To Pledge or Not to Pledge...

A school in Vermont is currently having it out with itself over the issue of the Pledge of Allegiance. I won't comment on the particulars of the issue they are having because A) They're silly, and B) I don't care. It did however cause me to think about the issue of the pledge in schools and what I think is the proper tact to take in holding true to my libertarian principals and our constitutional rights.

First to enumerate those things which I know to be true:

1. Nobody should be forced to say anything that they don't want to outside of a court, and even there they have the option to not speak, they just have to be ready for the consequences.

2. Most children do not take the recitation of the pledge seriously. I know that I didn't take it seriously as a child and I'm about as patriotic a guy as you're going to find.

3. We should not underestimate the power of peer pressure to influence children who do not wish to recite the pledge to do so.

4. The recitation of the pledge itself is not a bad thing.

So, what do I think should be done about this? I believe that schools should designate a time and a place before the first class of the day where children who wish to say the pledge together can do so. Do I think that many of them will show up 5 minutes early just to say the pledge? Not unless their parents make them. Do I care? Not really. If you want patriotic children who love their country, what you teach them during history class for their 12 years of primary school education is far more important than 30 seconds a day spent reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Teach them about the rights and liberties that the flag represents and they will love the flag.