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did anyone else from the USA grow up being forced to say the pledge to the flag in school? (media.kbin.social)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by euphoria@kbin.social to c/AskKbin@kbin.social

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im 20 for reference. ever since i was a kid, up until hs, we were forced every morning to stand, look at the flag and hold our hearts and say:

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all"

i didnt stand a single time because i disagreed with being forced, and i was berated by the teacher in front of everyone, and he threatened to kick me out of class if i ever did it again. i was about 11-12 then, it was 2015.

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[–] andromedathecat@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

I was never forced which is kind of notable since I’m from Alabama. I think my school was terrified of getting slapped with a lawsuit.

[–] IcyCockatoo@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

This is still done in public schools in Texas, and they have the kids pledge allegiance to the Texas flag too.

[–] milkytoast@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

it's weird as fuck, and especially the "under god" part like the rest isn't all that terrible ig but why must u shove god into everything

[–] wjrii@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

It was tacked on in the 50s (note how it kinda messes with the cadence) because of godless commies. There have been other little tweaks as well, some making it worse (e.g. "under god") and some better (abandoning the, herrrm, "Roman" salute). While always a bit weirdly nationalistic, the core of the modern pledge was written by a Christian Socialist and replaced one that was worse and more explicitly religious.

I guess it's not so weird that it exists and I assume many countries have some sort of boilerplate loyalty oath they can bust out as needed, but it's pretty messed up that it's mandatory for kids on a daily basis and fetishizes the flag as an object. I am quite fond of my country, and I think there are a lot of worse places to live, but our history is pretty messed up and our views on what exactly constitutes freedom and democracy are not unquestionable just because some clever provincial elites came up with a halfway workable system in the late 1700s. I suppose it's marginally better to build a national cult out of institutions and symbols than individuals, but it's still a terrible idea to treat patriotism like religious dogma.

[–] BrerChicken@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

I'm 44 and grew up in Miami. We had the regular southern patriotism mixed with the Cubans who were very friggin thankful to be living in the US (including my family!) So you better believe we all said it! But the way I saw it, my parents and grandparents left Cuba so that we wouldn't have to do that kinda of things in school. I love my country, but it's crazy to put your hands over your heart and pledge every single morning, not to mention that under God part that was added only a couple of decades before I even started to say it.

As a big fan of Groenig's "Life in Hell" comic strip, I just started saying one of his versions:

I plead alignment to the flakes of the untitled snakes of a merry cow, and to the republicans, for which they scam: one nacho, underpants with licorice and jugs of wine for owls.

[–] gzrrt@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

Yes. It's weird and should be stopped.

[–] just_squanch_it@lemmy.one 1 points 2 years ago

Not only that, I was in a private, church-school for a couple years and we also had a pledge for the christian flag as well.

Also, why is there a christian flag?

[–] hihusio@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

we did this during elementary school in the 80s. I also remember doing duck and cover drills for nuclear war.

[–] HRDS_654@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

To make it worse, I found out not too long ago that the version they made me say wasn't even the original. "Under God" did not exist in the original version of the pledge.

EDIT: For those that were curious, apparently it was added in 1954 under Dwight Eisenhower.

[–] abff08f4813c@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

This was very me

[–] Catch42@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

Yes, I did. I didn't think anything about it at the time, but as an adult is seems weird, and like someone else said cultish. Yet, I am conflicted, because one of my concerns about the USA is increasing partisanship driven diverging cultures. Having kids say the pledge of allegiance is generally unoffensive, especially when compared to our ongoing culture wars.

[–] OutrageousUmpire@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

I thought everyone did. I did for sure. I know in Texas they say the Texas pledge to the Texas flag as well (or at least they did 20 years ago).

[–] kool_newt@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

Pretty sure everyone did.

[–] QuinceDaPence@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

We only had one teacher tell us we were required to (we were standing up just kinda mumbling it), the following class everyone just stayed seated and at least 3 of us had printouts in our backpacks confirming that it was a violation of the first amendment to require it.

He didn't even acknowledge it, knowing that teacher I imagine he looked it up right after and realized he was wrong.

We eventually resumed standing up but hands at our sides and silent.

Edit: if this is showing up as a reply to another comment, it was supposed to be a top level comment to the OP. Some weird stuff keeps happening with my comments but I'm not sure if it's just visual.

[–] frustratedphagocytosis@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

Starting September 12, 2001 it became mandatory in high school, with disciplinary action taken if you refused to stand during the pledge

[–] son_named_bort@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Yep, everyday K-12. We also had a moment of silence after the pledge, with the idea that kids would use that time to pray. Of course, nobody did because it was lame.

[–] wjrii@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

I grew up in Florida and Tennessee in the 80s and 90s. It was definitely a daily thing, but very lax enforcement and I don't know that anybody would have made a huge stink about it even then. The duck and cover "tornado" drills were very real and very serious though.

[–] distantorigin@kbin.cafe 1 points 2 years ago

As a millennial that grew up in the early-to-mid 2000s, it was absolutely expected pre-middle school that we do this. Pretty gross.

[–] Compactor9679@lemm.ee 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

U can always go to a different country :)

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