Thoughtlessly, every day we rise, place our hands on our hearts, and recite the words we have said hundreds of times. But they have no meaning now, if they ever did at all. It is nothing but childhood indoctrination, blind nationalism, false sentiments, and religious favoritism.

Every day at school, our rights are stepped on and a show of our youthful indoctrination is made.

The Pledge of Allegiance reads, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.” This pledge has us declaring our allegiance to a symbol, a mere piece of fabric and should be completely abandoned in school.

            The pledge has been changed four times, including the addition of the words “under God” in 1954. Since it has been changed so many times, the idea that we should change certain parts that are discriminatory and offensive should not be considered radical or unheard of.

At a young age, we are taught to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. When we’re young, we do not understand what it means or stands for, let alone whether or not we agree with it. We do it because we are taught to and because a refusal to do so could get you bullied, harassed, and/or looked at as “un-American.”

             Most do not know the pledge was created as a marketing campaign. The original pledge was published in an issue of the magazine The Youth’s Companion as a campaign to raise American nationalism by selling flags to public schools and magazines to students.

            Not only does the pledge include fallacies–such as “with liberty, and justice for all”–but it also blatantly rejects the notion of separation of church and state with the words “under God.” In state run schools, with publicly paid teachers, the idea of monotheism is promoted, while discriminating against polytheists and atheists. How could there be a separation of church and state when every day the state promotes monotheism to students?