Over the last day or two I have received memes posted on Facebook bemoaning that, unlike when I was in school, the Pledge of Allegiance is no longer said in school so as not to offend anyone, a claim that not only annoys, but offends me.

The most popular meme seems to be the one with a group of four “Dick and Jane” looking kids obviously saying the pledge facing another kid holding the American flag.

I get these memes from a variety of people on a regular basis, so I find it is time to set the matter straight.

The claim that schools no longer say the “Pledge of Allegiance” is a lie perpetrated to give the impression that some people are patriotic and others are not. It is a non-existent issue whose only purpose is to rile people up by misleading people into thinking that public schools are un-American.

While they attempt to divide people into the two groups, the authors of these memes show their true ignorance of the Pledge by ignoring the world “indivisible” as they attempt to divide.

I taught for 38 years, with 35 of them being in public schools in cities and suburbs in various states.

Every morning for those 35 years in public schools, at the beginning of homeroom, students stood for the Pledge and a moment of silence during which they could pray or day dream as was their desire. For the last 18 years of that career, after the students were told over the P.A. to stand for the pledge, the person leading it would say, “Ready. Begin”, so that we would all begin at the same time.

Granted, there were some students that would not recite the pledge, but if you believe the words of the pledge they had a right not to.

The lower grades usually recite the pledge without any problem, because, basically, the lower grades do just about everything they are asked or told to with no problem. High school students often would question much of what they did when younger, and needed explanations as rote formulaic recitations seemed empty and useless.

I, and I am sure there were other teachers, would explain that although they may have the right to not say the Pledge, they did not have a right to do anything else during its recitation that would draw attention to themselves as that would be a counter action. There is a difference between passive resistance and open revolt.

If they chose not to say the Pledge, I asked them to respectfully stand, but remain silent if they so chose, or sit quietly and respectfully or they might bring attention to themselves and that could be seen as an anti-pledge action which could result in petty and annoying office action.

What should be the real concern is that the exercise of the Pledge has become so routine, it has no meaning.

When it is first learned, it is divided into little phrases for the sake of the young kids learning it:
1) I pledge allegiance
2) to the flag
3) of the United States
4) of America
5) and to the republic
6) for which it stands
7) one nation
8) under God
9) indivisible
10) with liberty
11) and justice
This type of rehabilitation look for a cialis tadalafil canada few criteria in patients before accepting them. It occurs due to less blood supply into the penis. super cialis After intercourse, the penis should revert to its flaccid state. viagra 20mg india Side affects you can http://www.devensec.com/news/Devens_Shuttle_Map_and_Schedule_Draft_UPDATED_4_7_17_2.pdf viagra properien expect are headaches, dizziness, nasal congestion, upset stomach and indigestion. 12) for all
And it stays this way from that point on.

Just listen the next time you are at an event when the Pledge is recited. It will be said just this way.

In reality, it is a single sentence,
“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”.

As a single sentence it has meaning.

Instead of making up false claims of the lack of patriotism that are provably false, people should be concerned that the pledge, beyond being an empty exercise, should have meaning.

As it presently is, most students simply mumble their way through the Pledge giving the impression it is being said while they are just waiting it out. They pretty much are content to give the impression they are saying it so as to keep someone in authority happy.

It is meaningless.

For those of us who had been altar boys during the Latin Mass years the equivalent would be forgetting the words to the Confiteor and just making mumbling noises, remembering to make the Mea Culpa hand gestures and that little move to the center while bowed.

Looked good. Looked like you were praying. But, in reality, it was going through the motions without any substance.

As an English teacher I would insist that when my homeroom recited the pledge it was done as the one sentence it is.

Unfortunately I was reprimanded by an assistant principal one time because she claimed I was making a mockery of the Pledge by “rushing through it” and not respecting the pauses. And, even though I was able to explain I had my students recite it as a single sentence not a series of disjointed phrases, I was advised that even though that might be true, I must have my students recite it as they always had, phrase by phrase, and apparently, with the preferred lack of meaning.

Yes, more proof that the exercise of the recitation was more important than the meaning of its words.

Since I worked in a school district in the buckle of the Bible Belt, and knowing full well that the line about “liberty and justice for all” was an empty one, whenever I recited the Pledge, I would quietly add the word “whenever” at the end for myself, not being loud enough for any students to hear.

This ”no one says the Pledge anymore so America is being killed” falsehood is equal to the one that claims students are not allowed to bring Bibles to school.

They can, and they do. They can read them any time that it does not interfere with what they should be doing, or are read instead of an assigned reading selection.

When my students finished a test, whether one I generated or a state standardized test, they could read anything they chose as long as they were quiet, and for some that meant the Bible- even the copy I had on the shelf behind my desk provided they were able to read it what with all my annotations and cross reference tabs.

What people need to do is stop passing on false information whose only purpose is to cause unneeded trouble.

The Pledge is said in schools.