The phrase “under God” was added into the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954, 62 years after the initial creation (Nobleman). Those two simple words ultimately became the source of controversy centered around the Pledge. Being that this ode is deep rooted in American history, it represents much more than what appears on the surface. It was originally created to bring the nation together “under one” and develop a sense of nationalism amongst the people. The Pledge is still something that a lot of elementary, middle and high schools implement into their morning announcements every day. At times, it is made clear that certain students feel as though it does not fully represent their background or their beliefs. Subsequently, these students choose to sit out of the Pledge as a form of silent protest and expression of their opinions. This is where a debate arises; some people believe that one is a citizen of the United States of America first, and it is one’s duty to respect the flag and everything it stands for, and recite the Pledge. However, the First Amendment states that all Americans have the Freedom of Speech and the Freedom of Religion (Greenhouse A2). These freedoms do not vanish upon entering the school doors. Yet, in a school setting the students choosing to exercise their rights tend to get punished in various ways; including, suspension, expulsion, and lowered grades. Students should not be penalized for refusing to say the Pledge, as it is not a matter of disrespect of obliteration to the country, but simply a birth given right. Moving forward, in order to put an end to the nonstop controversy, the law should be respected, and any teacher found guilty of unlawfully punishing a student should be subjected to consequences. 

The Pledge of Allegiance embodies much more American history than what meets the eye. This illustrates the reason a countless number of people get defensive when some Americans refuse to partake in the tradition. The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy and it was introduced to classrooms around the country that same year (Russo 38). The American flag is a symbol of the land of the free and should be respected. People believe that the Pledge of Allegiance is a way to honor the nation. It is strongly believed by many that reciting the Pledge is the epitome of displaying patriotism. One person in specific, James B. Upham, was a man imbued with patriotic fever who expressed, “It was my thought that a vow of loyalty or allegiance to the flag should be the dominant idea” (Bellamy 2). It is a popular belief amongst most Americans to want to show loyalty to the country. Beyond the Pledge of Allegiance: Hostility to Religious Expression in the Public Square is a document straight from a book containing several U.S. government documents that express what the true meaning is. The document discloses discussions between government officials that state saying the Pledge is, “simply patriotic to recite”, “hostility to faith is wrong, and it is without constitutional basis” (Beyond the Pledge of Allegiance). Many believe that the Pledge is something to be enthusiastic and celebratory about when it is being delivered. For many people, pledging allegiance to the flag is a sign of ultimate patriotism, and every citizen should want to express their nationalism through the Pledge. 

In contrast, many of those who choose to sit out have different religious beliefs about the Pledge. In 1954 the phrase “under God” was added into the Pledge of Allegiance (Russo 38). Due to the ties to Catholicism within the Pledge, many Americans do not feel included. One of the most admiring aspects of being a citizen of the United States of America is the Freedom of Religion. There is an estimated value of 4,200 religions in the world, and because of Freedom of Religion American citizens can practice any religion they desire (Beyond The Pledge of Allegiance). If a person’s religion does not support those beliefs, they have the right to refuse and not say the Pledge Allegiance at all. In the article, The Pledge of Allegiance: ‘under God’ is Under Scrutiny, the author Arsineh Arakel gives specific examples of unjustifiable punishing’s within the school system that were investigated. Arkel goes into detail about a student by the name Barnette who is “a Jehovah’s Witness who could not participate in saluting the flag due to his religious conviction that the flag depicts an ‘image’ which their God commands them not to adulate. The school administrators took what they thought were appropriate measures for dealing with the insubordination, and expelled the child” (Arakel 36). This students God, different than the one being pledged too, preaches for followers not to praise, which includes not praising the American flag. While Barnette still has full respect for the country and takes pride in his home, his religion is keeping him from expressing that through that specific forum. He is being penalized for standing up for what he believes in and respecting his own personal religious path. He is just another number in overwhelming statistics of students that has been punished unrightfully. 

Presently, people are unaware of the true meaning that caused the addition of “under God”. Simon Brown clarifies the reasoning in his article, The Supreme Court Ruled 72 Years Ago That Public Schools Can’t Force Students To Recite The Pledge Of Allegiance- Yet Some Officials Still Haven’t Gotten The Message, by stating, “Lawmakers added God to the Pledge in part to differentiate America from what they called the ‘godless communists’ of the Soviet Union” (Brown 10). President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the president at the time, believed that the country could use something to stimulate much needed patriotism during a questionable time. So, in turn he passed the law to add the phrase “under God”. It was never intended to be a religious notion; added with full intention to bring everyone together “as one nation” against a common enemy.

Nevertheless, America would not be what it is today if it were not for the men and woman that fought and continue to fight for everlasting independence. The Revolutionary War was a fight for freedom and individualism as a nation, a fight that was well overdue and rightfully won by America. A result of the United States newly gained independence, The Bill of Rights, a list of freedoms that limit government power over citizens, was ratified and approved in August of 1791 (Miss. Lawmaker). These rights are what the country fought so hard to obtain. The First Amendment declares that the American Citizens have, “Freedom of Religion, Speech, and the Press”.  This does not change no matter one’s age, gender, nationality, or religion. This amendment is critical to the idea that teachers do not have the jurisdiction to punish students that decide to reject the recital of the Pledge of Allegiance (Miss. Lawmaker). A teacher that does proceed to set a punishment to a student is committing an unlawful act, even though they are not following the proper guidelines set by the government. 

Various ideas of how to put the controversy to end have been explored. One idea is removing the words “under God” completely. However, this is something that has not yet been implemented, because of the commotion that too may cause. It is evident through this example of a high school student that many people will not be welcoming to the idea of removing “under God”: 

“In late 2014, a 17-year-old student in Tracy, Calif., received a double whammy when he refused to say “under God” in the Pledge. As part of a speech and debate class, West High School student, Derek Giardina, was assigned to lead the school in the Pledge 12 times during the year. The first two times he said “under God” over the school’s public-address system. The third time, he omitted the religious reference. In response, Giardina received detention and lost points on his assignment” (Brown 10). 

 In this specific example, the student was uncomfortable reciting the phrase due to his religious background. The student, Derek Giardina, made it clear to the teacher in the beginning of the year his feeling towards the mandatory assignment, however she pressured him into complying in order to receive a good grade. Subsequently, when he decided to stick to what he believes his grade in fact suffered, and he was not only ostracized from his peers but he also had to attend multiple detentions.  Like many cases involving the same type of scenario, the teacher did not even have to talk to the school board. Instead her actions were praised by fellow teachers, all of which do not have the same religious background as Giardina, so they could not relate to his position. 

The argument of reciting or not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is not just limited to the highly controversial phrase, “under God”. Another example of a reason why a student would choose to excuse themselves from participating is one’s nationality or cultural background. A video was published to the CBS local San Francisco in 2016 investigating a middle school student that fell victim to unjust punishment. The CBS article, NorCal Students Who Skipped Pledge of Allegiance Gets Grades Docked, reports a story about two young girls that had their grades lowered just because they did not stand for the Pledge. Leilani Thomas, one of the victims, is a Native American and she adamantly stated that, “the Stars and Stripes are not hers” (Turner). Leilani Thomas and the other student who refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance consequently had their grades suffer from their actions. Actions they took because they legally have every right to not say the Pledge. The two students were unjustifiably punished in an unprofessional way. Thus, the students switched classes to be with a different teacher. The teacher that punished the two students, on the other hand got no punishment herself. Fortunately for the students, and for every other American citizen, their rights are protected under law.

When it comes to reciting the Pledge in a classroom setting there are two drastically different viewpoints; that of the teachers and students. A case study developed by Leisa Martin focused on education and the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance from a middle school aged student’s perspective. One hundred students were asked to complete a questionnaire and follow-up interviews regarding their interpretation of the Pledge. Martin shared her findings in the article, Middle School Students’ Views on the United States Pledge of Allegiance.  She reported that most of the students she interviewed look at the Pledge as a tradition that is mandatory, and just meaningless repetition of words. The students often had no further knowledge of the origin or history of the Pledge. These student’s reflections of their background knowledge are a drastic difference from what teachers believe (Martin). In an opposing case study conducted by John J. Chiodo, teachers were asked a series of questions about the understanding their students have of the Pledge. Most of the teachers he talked to said that they have taught their students the history and meaning to the best of their abilities. Each teacher continued by saying that students should stand up and say the Pledge while saluting the flag because it is out of respect for the country in which they live in. To prevent incidents from happening, one solution is to educate the teachers and students more about the underlying meaning and history of what they are verbalizing in class. 

The Pledge is something elementary school and middle school students grew up saying but do not even fully comprehend what they are saying. Research was used to consider recurring themes of a student's interpretation of the significance of the Pledge of Allegiance. The major themes did in fact derive from the study, 

“From the analysis of the questionnaire, interviews with the students, conversations with the teacher, and class observations three themes emerged: the development of loyalty and patriotism, the pledge becoming a meaningless series of words because of constant repetition, and the pledge promoting limited commitment to active participation” (Martin).

A closer look at the themes could potentially help students develop a better understanding of saying the Pledge. While gaining a greater understanding of the Pledge, the first theme of development of loyalty and patriotism was revealed, “The Pledge of Allegiance was developed to promote socialization and instill a love of country, and it generally achieved its mission with the students in this study. For example, in the survey, when the students were asked what they thought about when they said the Pledge, the most common response was honoring the nation” (Martin 252). Many students believe that saying the Pledge of Allegiance is a way for people to pay respect to the nations troops who continue to fight for freedom. When it is viewed in that perspective it makes sense as to why people think that the Pledge should be said. Although, some people think that way most people from this study believe that the Pledge is just a meaningless series of words. It is not even a lack of respect it is simply because the Pledge has lost its meaning over the years of continuous repetition with no explanation. A member of the opposition stated, “I love my country, I'm just not really concerned with the Pledge. It's rather annoying at this point. I feel that I've already Pledged my Allegiance to the U.S. by not doing anything wrong” (Martin 250). This is a strong statement because it stresses the point that a lot of students even know the meaning behind the Pledge. No student should be forced to recite something that they do not understand. The Pledge is a common tradition in schools and yes they do not even take the time to explain the background behind it and yet they expect their students to say it.

The Pledge of Allegiance is also known to have nothing to do with religion. It represents the men and women who fight for our freedom every day, and if you disrespect that you should be punished. People argue that they do not want to take part in the Pledge for religious reasons but in a document previously referred to, Beyond the Pledge of Allegiance: Hostility to Religious Expression in the Public Square, is highly credible and statements from State of Honor Chet Edwards not for or against God but for the people on both sides of the argument. Edwards states that one should respect the fact that people who do not want to participate in saying the Pledge because they are people of faith and believe that they are standing up for their religion. “What they are fighting for is to protect religious freedom from Government entanglement” (Beyond the Pledge of Allegiance). Edwards proceeds to express that there is no need for division within the country, a place that came together against nation crisis’. Edwards says one should practice what they preach, the Bill of Rights states a law, religious freedom. The Founding Fathers were wise men who purposely put religion and religious freedom on a pedestal, they knew that this right was far too important to be left in the hands of just anyone. “The First Amendment specifically protects private religious expression in the public square by guaranteeing both the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech against Government interference” (Beyond the Pledge of Allegiance). Whether people believe the sole purpose of the Pledge of Allegiance is patriotic or not every individual has the freedom to not say the Pledge and not have to fear punishment and consequences. 

While the local school system seems to be doing little to nothing to try and stop the issue of teachers unjustifiably punishing their students, the upper level government attempting to taking action. There has been evidence that the Supreme Court supports the removal of the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance (Brown 9). While it was once more accepted to pledge “under God” in the past, today’s society has changed beliefs and leans towards the removal of the phrase. The controversy surrounding the Pledge has not only been addressed by supreme court but also by former president, George W. Bush. In a press conference he addresses the reciting of the Pledge in school. He starts off by saying that every American citizen should want to participate, however it is ultimately one’s choice (Greenhouse A4). Being that he is former military, and president of the nation the Pledge is honoring, it can be easy for him to say everyone should say the Pledge. But instead he continues and says that the fundamentals in which this country was essentially built on include Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion.   

Students should never face a punishment for exercising their first amendment rights by remaining seated or silent during the Pledge of Allegiance during school. As for the teacher who unfairly punishes a student, the school should take further action and provide consequences. While a teacher may disagree with their student’s decision to not stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance, it should not be their concern, let alone their place to discipline them. These punishments are a harsh stance to practice for something that should not be questioned by a students’ authoritative leader in a classroom. A significant portion of students believe that the Pledge of Allegiance does not correctly represent them; however, they still have the upmost respect for America. It is not simply a matter of respecting the country or not, it is simply the fact that citizens of the U.S. have freedom, and can choose to do as they please with it. The Pledge is implemented in a lot of elementary, middle and high schools’ daily morning announcements before the start of class. Students have every right to either say the Pledge of Allegiance or to sit in their chair and not recite it at all.  Ultimately, it does not matter why a student does not want to participate in reciting the Pledge because the constitution has protected those rights for those individuals. Without any further discussion, it is clearly stated that it is unconstitutional for a student, or any person, to be penalized by a teacher or anyone else for not saying the Pledge. Nonetheless, like anything in life individuals will always have their own opinion, the matter of fact is that America needs to come together and find a compromise to stop the abundance of unlawful punishments given by teachers to adolescents. Citizens should be proud to live in the United States of America but they also should never have the fear of their rights being contested. 

The United States of America is unique because of the rights it upholds for its’ citizens. This nation is full of many different people whether it is due to religion or race or any other aspect. It is the reason so many people want to be a part of this country, to be supported and to have the opportunity to be free to be who they are.
