Should Students Be Forced to Say the Pledge of Allegiance

A Forced Pledge Elementary school children begin every school day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, in which they promise loyalty to the United States of America. As students progress to their high school years, they let go of this practice, and with good reason. High-school students cannot be required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance because it infringes on their rights of free speech and does not attain its desired goal of instilling national pride. The fact that an individual is in school does not imply that they lose their constitutional right to free speech. The First Amendment guarantees that all citizens, including minors, have the right to fee expression, including the right to speak freely. This implies that, if a student feels uncomfortable reciting the Pledge of Allegiance daily, he cannot be forced to do so. For example, students who are polytheists or atheists may feel uncomfortable stating the words “under God,” and it infringes on their natural rights to force them to do so. Therefore, schools should not consider requiring their students to make a statement that makes them feel uneasy. Furthermore, forcing students to say the Pledge of Allegiance ultimately counters the main goal of the statement. Rather than instilling a sense of national pride in high-schoolers, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance makes it seem undesirable and instills a sense of rebellion in teenagers. It will feel like something they are forced to do, and many will try to avoid the recitation. Repeating the same phrase over and over again makes it lose its sense of meaning, and the Pledge of Allegiance becomes a meaningless chore that does nothing to promote nationalism or pride in one's country. Stating the Pledge of Allegiance daily should not become a requirement as it represses an individual's right to free speech and does not instill nationalism in