This Letter to the Editor was in response to William Liu ’24’s opinion in the March 2022 edition of The Bradford titled “Why We Should Abolish the Pledge of Allegiance in Schools”.
Written to the editors by Abraham Budson-McQuilken ’22
When the pandemic swept us out of the classroom, many long standing traditions were interrupted. One of the traditions set aside during this time of tumult was the daily Pledge of Allegiance. The prolonged absence of the morning Pledge has prompted questions regarding the necessity of this sacred rite.
While not immune to controversy, the Pledge has long served a unifying oath, spoken at the start of every day. Students have recited the Pledge for more than one hundred and thirty years since its creation in 1892. Written as the wounds inflicted by the Civil War were still fresh, the affirmation of loyalty was composed for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. The Pledge would prove popular nationally, with it being introduced in schools across the country.
In 1954, during the height of Soviet aggression and tyranny, the phrase “under God” was added to the Pledge to reaffirm our commitment to the ideals upon which our country was founded. Going back to the earliest days of our republic, God has been invoked as a granter of liberties and freedoms. In our Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of British colonial rule Jefferson unequivocally states that it is our Creator who grants the rights to which all Americans are entitled. Our public servants have long ended their oaths with the phrase “so help me God” and our national motto officially adopted in 1965, and first used on coins in 1864, is “in God we trust.” Additionally, lest we forget that Lincoln first uttered the words “under God” during his Gettysburg address, advocating for a new national birth of freedom. To say that God is not a deeply ingrained part of American civil tradition is unequivocally false.
Yet the phrase “under God” remains contentious to some. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the 2004 case Newdow v. Elk Grove unanimously to protect the phrase “under God.” This precedent was re-affirmed in Massachusetts by the 2014 case Doe v. Acton Boxborough Regional School District in which the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled seven to zero in favor of Acton Boxborough. The majority opinion stating, “Although the words ‘under God’ undeniably have a religious tinge, courts that have considered the history of the Pledge and the presence of those words have consistently concluded that the Pledge, notwithstanding its reference to God, is a fundamentally patriotic exercise, not a religious one.”
It is the clear opinion of the state’s highest court and the Supreme Court that the phrase “under God” does not pose a threat to free speech or religious expression. Some have argued that the Pledge of Allegiance itself is despotic in nature, but to compare the Pledge of Allegiance, an optional oath, to the menace of Nazi tyranny and cheapens the very real suffering and struggled of the peoples of Europe and Asia subject to the horrors of the gestapo and the holocaust.
During a time in which our country is suffering more division than it has for a long time it is important that we remember we all share a nation, and a flag. To remove this unifying symbol now would be not only harmful but detrimental to the future continuity of our republic. The Pledge of Allegiance has provided a strong sense of unity for over a century, and throughout the many struggles we have endured, as a nation, and as a community, the Pledge has always been there to remind us we are more similar than different.
To suggest that Wellesley Public Schools should abandon the longstanding tradition of the Pledge of Allegiance is not only absurd on the face of it, but offensive and obscene.
The Bradford welcomes Letters to Editors and can be reached at bradfordstaff@gmail.com.
Great to see young people who understand the history of why we salute the American flag and that they understand that millions of Veterans gave their lives to protect this country and what our flag stands for.
Also it should be noted that the Wellesley School Committee is responsible by Mass. State law to make sure our children have the opportunity to salute the symbol of our freedom daily.
Section 69: Display of national flags; pledge of allegiance; penalty for violation
Section 69. The school committee shall provide for each schoolhouse under its control, which is not otherwise supplied, flags of the United States of silk or bunting not less than two feet long, such flags or bunting to be manufactured in the United States, and suitable apparatus for their display as hereinafter provided. A flag shall be displayed, weather permitting, on the school building or grounds on every school day and on every legal holiday or day proclaimed by the governor or the President of the United States for especial observance; provided, that on stormy school days, it shall be displayed inside the building. A flag shall be displayed in each assembly hall or other room in each such schoolhouse where the opening exercises on each school day are held. Each teacher at the commencement of the first class of each day in all grades in all public schools shall lead the class in a group recitation of the ”Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag”. A flag shall be displayed in each classroom in each such schoolhouse. Failure for a period of five consecutive days by the principal or teacher in charge of a school equipped as aforesaid to display the flag as above required, or failure for a period of two consecutive weeks by a teacher to salute the flag and recite said pledge as aforesaid, or to cause the pupils under his charge so to do, shall be punished for every such period by a fine of not more than five dollars. Failure of the committee to equip a school as herein provided shall subject the members thereof to a like penalty.
Come join us on Sunday May 22, 2022 for the 54th Annual Veterans Day Parade.
Pete Jones
Wellesley American Legion Post 72
Vice Commander