Standing for the Pledge of Allegiance in junior high: What does the ACLU teach?
Katherine Kersten has this refreshing editorial in the Minneapolis Star Tribune titled: Who will get last word on Pledge of Allegiance in Jr. High? It discusses 8th grader Brandt Dahl’s refusal to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in school. Of course, the ACLU weighed in threatening the school with a lawsuit and huge attorney’s fees bill if it didn’t stop requiring students to stand. Apparently, the ACLU also lectured the school that this is a good moment to teach children about the Constitution and the values represented by the flag.
Kersten retorts:
. . . Kim Dahl, Brandt’s mom, discovered a revealing fact when she asked her son why he refused to stand. He had no answer, she told the Star Tribune, adding “he’s just a normal 13-year-old.”
She probably is right. Thirteen-year-olds typically like nothing better than to grab the limelight and thumb their noses at authority . . .
I suspect, however, that some Dilworth students may learn a different lesson from their buddies’ flirtation with “rights” and the ACLU.
Civics? Constitutional law? More likely, these kids will see that school administrators — the bane of a 13-year-old’s existence — can be brought to heel, and that it feels awfully darn good . . .
For many Dilworth students, the incident may reinforce a message that our “me first” culture peddles constantly. It’s this: You — and your whims and desires — are the center of the universe. Life is about “asserting” and “expressing” yourself, with no need to consult others’ wishes or think about anything larger than yourself.
Who will teach our kids another, far less appealing lesson? It’s this: You have rights, but you also have responsibilities. These include controlling your desires, being courteous to others and respecting authority. The law does not compel you to pledge allegiance to the American flag or to stand while others do. But simple respect should prompt you to honor those who bled and died for that flag, so that kids like you can sit in an eighth-grade class in Dilworth in the freest and most prosperous nation in history . . .
Kersten also reports that after having a talk with his mom about authority, responsibility, sacrifice, freedom, and patriotism, Brandt has decided to stand for the pledge in the future.
Related post:
MN: 3 suspended for not standing for Pledge of Allegiance