This page is passing out gold starts to the three Minnesota eighth-graders who were suspended for sitting out a recitation of The Pledge of Allegiance. Growing up in Canada, this page had to endure the inanity of reciting an oath of allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the II at the beginning of my school days. If the Minnesota kids are anything like me at that age, they understand on some level that these ceremonies are exercises in institutional conformity. How come schools don't have the students recite the Bill of Rights or the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
If eigth graders are expected to grow up and defend the United States of America and its 'freedoms' on the killing fields of Iran, North Korea, or Venezuela (I'm projecting here), then perhaps these children should be treated like they live in a free society and be spared the forced patriotism. As for the grown-ups among us, we can hope for the day that we can attend a professional sporting event without having to prove our loyalty to the state by rising in support of some American Idol wannabe screeching the national anthem before the game begins.
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