Object lessons in consequences

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The older I get the more I appreciate Shakespeare, whether or not old Will actually wrote that stuff (and evidence so far tells me he didn't but that other guy did. Sorry, forgot his name).

What was the question again?

To be or not to be. That is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them...

More or less, that's what Hamlet said. If I didn't get it right, blame my high school English teachers who made me read Shakespeare against my will.

Speaking of which, should people be forced to do something against their will?

Really? You sure? Certain? Your answer, as longtime readers of my ramblings have come to expect, will be used to beat you down.

Simply put, ya can't make a blanket answer Yes or No to that question. Duh huh, right?

No free speech zone.

Ok, so lemme get more specific. There is a community in the United States where a law is pending that will make saying something optional and I don't mean prayer in schools.

"There's a catch here, Baker," you say. "What are you not telling us?"

Aaight. Say it with me then:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of American and to the republic for which is stands, one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.

Say on. Say on. Unless forced to do so.

Next question. Didja say it correctly? Bet you didn't. You paused between "one nation" and "under God." Under the grammatically correct enunciation, as taught to me eons ago by uber patriot Bubba Akin, you don't pause there. It's one continuous phrase. That is the way the writers of the pledge intended it to be spoken. Try it again.

Now, should school children be forced to say the Pledge?

Before I go further, lemme state. I say the pledge. I'm proud to do it. I've led the pledge at some events.  I sing (quietly) the national anthem.

Authoritarian regimes require a pledge or something similar from school children. The kids are forced to say it as a form of indoctrination. Call it brain washing, because that's what it really is. The kids, with malleable minds, have their thoughts directed down a certain path of direct-able citizenship by the dictator's puppets.

Should school children be forced to say the Pledge?

It's right there in the numbers...

What intrinsic value is achieved by rote repetition of the flag? History lesson? Where? You could make a specious argument that it does teach societal values and citizenship with the "liberty and justice" bit. You can even make a more plausible argument that it teaches deification with the phrase "under God."

Rather by forcing kids to recite the pledge what you are actually doing is telling them the First Amendment doesn't apply. They can be forced to say things against their will. They can be forced to take what amounts to a loyalty oath in front of their peers.

Forcing kids to say the pledge, to my thinking, is diametrically opposed to the most important mission of today's schools: teaching kids to be critical thinkers. More in a second.

Someone is going to say that if children (or anyone) chooses to not say the pledge, they are subject to ridicule by people around them.

I smell my thumb in your general direction.

Yep.

So?

Which is more important:

• The right to keep your mouth shut or

• The right to force someone to do something against their will.

Careful again how you answer! Both choices are loaded with planet-busters.

So yes, children will be derided for failure to say the pledge. Is still a reason to force them to do it?

I suggest no. Let the kids decide and face the consequences. Making the decision of whether or not to run that gauntlet is an incredibly, massively and dang near impossible to underestimate juncture. By allowing kids the choice, say it or not, they must employ those critical reasoning skills that schools SHOULD be imparting to our kids.

Please merge into coming destruction.

KID: I can say/not say the pledge and fit in. I can say/not say the pledge and be true to what I believe.

In fact, it is an object lesson in one of my favorite (and coined by me) expressions:

The worst thing about being a rebel is living long enough to suffer the consequences of your actions.

What what about the kids who do say the pledge and want to? What about their decision matrix? They must decide as well. Do they support their nonconformist classmate, support those who ridicule him or take a third course and stay out of the issue completely?

To us, this may indeed be a minor decision. Then again, maybe not. It could be a crisis of conscience. But to a 6 year old, this is something that can and does keep them up at night.

Sometimes more real than reality

As for me, as long as it's my decision to say the pledge, I'll be loud and proud. If someone forces me to say it, I'm gonna put my 350 pounds on the ground and dare someone to move me. If anyone around me is forced to say it, I'm going to park my carcass on their behalf.

I don't see a conflict there either.