To Stand or Not to Stand- That is the Question

TO STAND OR NOT TO STAND- THAT IS THE QUESTION

 “Please Rise For The Pledge Of Allegiance”. This is heard everyone morning at 8am; however, not everyone stands anymore. Should students be expected to stand for the pledge?

“I don’t stand for the flag. I just don’t. Our past president ruined the flag for me so now I don’t stand,” Freshman Serenity Lane said.

“I stand for the flag because my uncle served for our country,” Freshman Jazmyne Cordero said.

“The main reason some people don’t stand for or recite the pledge is typically that they believe that America does not provide ‘liberty and justice for all,’ as it states. They refuse to say the pledge as a form of protest against whatever systemic injustice that they stand against,” Lion Digest’s article “Should We Stand for the Pledge of Allegiance?” by Jacopo Congui-Hughes said.

“I don’t stand for the flag because the words of the pledge of allegiance don’t match our country’s actions. How do we say one thing but everyone’s actions are so different. It’s like nowadays people just stand up just to be standing, but in hindsight they don’t even know what they’re talking about,” Freshman Devlin Tierna said.

“I think anyone who is physically able to stand for the flag should stand. Standing for the flag is important as a basic respect for our country. It would be great if all students would stand and respect the flag, but then again, some teachers don’t stand for our flag,” Science teacher Ms. Parrott said.

“Students are opposed to standing and reciting the pledge for several different reasons. Some students dislike current events occurring in the United States such as racism, homophobia, and sexism, and not standing for the pledge as a way to silently protest,” The Paw Print’s article “Why I Don’t Stand For the Pledge” by Rachel Henry said.

I’ve noticed that a lot of people in my classes do not stand for the flag and some teachers get offended or have a problem with it, but I think if the student isn’t being disrespectful what’s the issue?  In agreement to the National Youth Rights Association  “The Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem” Since then, the rights of students have been clarified further. Federal courts have decided that not only can you keep quiet during the pledge, but you can also sit down or raise your fist in protest, as long as you are not disrupting others.

Junior Ori Palmer said that if people don’t want to stand, we shouldn’t have too, simple.

Overall, I think students should be able to stand or not for the flag; it’s everybody’s choice and people shouldn’t try to taking it away from you. Do you think we should be forced to stand to flag if we don’t want to?