Due to the recent controversy in the National Football League (NFL) surrounding a group of players protesting the National Anthem, the question has arose concerning whether or not high school students should be obligated to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Since this is an opinions article, I’ll be blunt and start by stating my own: I do not stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Similar to the players in the NFL, I choose not to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance because I cannot justify declaring my devotion to a country that is failing to protect a large part of its population.
Unarmed black people are being murdered by police, trans and queer people are being attacked for their identities, women are being stripped of essential health care by the federal government and the Ku Klux Klan is marching in the streets with swastika armbands while being told by our president that they are “decent people.”
I refuse to glorify this. I refuse to pledge allegiance to this country until all people are safe and equal and the notion of “liberty and justice for all” rings true.
While I fervently believe that each student has the right to choose whether they will sit, stand, kneel or lay during the Pledge of Allegiance, I cannot justify standing for a nation that is failing to keep me safe.
I am not the only one who feels this way. “I never stand for the pledge,” senior Flora Horne said, “because I won’t stand for a nation that doesn’t stand for people like me.”
For all those like Horne and myself, there are an equal number who will argue that protesting the Pledge of Allegiance is a disrespect to our country.
What people should understand about this issue is that the decision to not stand for the pledge or National Anthem is not a statement of hatred towards America, but a declaration of a strong enough love for America that we are willing to fight to change it.
Colin Kaepernick does not hate America, he hates America’s mistreatment of people of color, and is exercising his first amendment right as an American to do something about it.
Clearly, simply speaking out about these issues is not enough. One kneeled athlete sparks a national controversy, sparks a discussion about racial injustice, sparks, hopefully, meaningful policy and change.
People of color and other marginalized groups have been speaking out for years about their injustice, and what we need now is action.
