The Pledge
Tom Rawles, a city council member in Mesa, Arizona, got headlines this week when he refused to stand up and recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of council meetings. His reason: to protest the Bush administration’s involvement in Iraq, apparently. Two things at issue here: one, his protest of the Iraq issue. That’s fine - if he doesn’t think America should be in Iraq, that’s his business. But as one Mesa columnist wrote, what Rawles is doing in the city council meetings is not right and not wrong - it is quite simply irrelevent. It has nothing to do with the affairs of managing Mesa, Arizona, and has nothing to do with what Rawles was elected for. So on that count, Rawles is just being silly and ineffective.
The second issue, however, is more interesting to me: the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. I see no reason at all - other than tradition - that such a pledge should be recited at such a forum. In fact, I see little reason for ever reciting such a pledge, except perhaps at naturalization ceremonies, when people become American citizens. I don’t even like the idea of small children reciting the Pledge in school - it smacks faintly of Nazi or Soviet-era brainwashing. Most young children have no idea what, precisely, they are saying. That pretty much negates any true meaning to their words, turning the daily ritual into nothing more than just that: a ritual. I’ve told my kids that if they want to stand and recite the pledge, that’s fine - but if they don’t, that’s fine, too.
And regarding saying the Pledge in other forums, such as school board meetings or city council meetings: why? Why is it done, or believed to be necessary or even appropriate? I’d prefer that the people just got down to the business at hand. Pledging loyalty to the flag and country might be noble, but what purpose does it serve to do so right before a debate about zoning and traffic lights?
Of course, that leads to a larger question: why is the National Anthem played at sporting events? Again, it’s pretty much simply a tradition at this point, accepted and expected by just about everybody - but why? Yes, I understand that it might serve as some sort of “bonding” exercise for the people attending, but really - what does it have to do with the event at hand - the game?
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