Dear Future President.

There are currently 1.4 million men and women enlisted in the military, risking their lives every day so that we can live in freedom. As Americans we are blessed with this right and I can not think of a better place to be born and raised. Every day when my class stands to say the Pledge of Allegiance I am reminded of how lucky I am to live in a free country. Part of that freedom is not being forced to stand for the pledge and while I agree it should be a choice I also believe that sitting is the wrong choice. While America is not a perfect country I cannot name anywhere better and as citizens we need to appreciate that.

In 1943 the case of West Virginia State Board of Education v Barnette was brought to the supreme court. It was deemed unconstitutional under the 1st and 14th amendment to force students to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Taking away this right to chose would be unconstitutional and take away the entire point of pledging to freedom. However not standing is to not appreciate that right that not everyone can be lucky enough to have.

Colin Kaepernick has been a popular topic in the news lately after kneeling during the National Anthem at Football games in honor of black men killed by the police. Though I do have to give him props for being peaceful with his protest, neither the pledge nor the national anthem are towards the Police Department and it is therefore irrelevant to his cause. The pledge represents America and the blessings that living here has given us. The pledge of allegiance ends with “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” The USA is not perfect and unfortunately not everybody is always treated with equality but that doesn’t mean we should stop striving for that. It is important to respect that effort and to pledge to continue striving towards Liberty and Justice for all even if you don’t believe we are at that point yet. Disagreeing with the Police department or even with the actions of the government is irrelevant to being proud of America and what we have accomplished g by getting closer to that goal.

Alexis Lynn Oldham, a writer for the Washington Post, wrote a very interesting article describing why the pledge is not really to the government but to the Country and to all of the gifts we have been given just for being citizens. She states that she “want(s) to make it clear that the Pledge of Allegiance is NOT a pledge of loyalty to our government, but to our Nation which is made of WE, the People. If our government becomes tyrannical, it is our responsibility to replace it. We do not answer to the government, they are to serve and answer to us.” I agree with this and the belief that as a country we have accomplished so much and come so far that to disregard all of that and not appreciate it is disrespectful and ignorant. I find it selfish to not have respect for the 1.4 million men and women in the military fighting for us everyday. To be able to sit in your chair while veterans are stuck in wheelchairs unable to stand because they selflessly fought for their country and were injured in the line of duty is beyond disrespectful.

So I hope that America can continue being able to chose whether or not to stand for the pledge of allegiance but even more so I hope that they make the right choice.

Sincerely, Adeline