From the mouths of babes.
My daughter is 11 and she asked me three days ago, "Dad, I am so tired of saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Do I have to say it?" She informed me that every morning since 9/11 the whole class recites the pledge. I asked her if her teacher explained that saying it was voluntary. She said he didn't. I said, "Well, why don't you ask him about that? Ask him if the Supreme Court has ever had anything to say about reciting the Pledge of Allegiance."
The next day I asked if she'd spoken to her teacher. She said, "No. I just stood up and said it. I don't want to get into trouble." I struggled with that for a day. The next day I asked if she'd said the pledge and she said, "Nope." I said, "You didn't? What did you do?" She said, "I just sat there doing my work." Then I said, "Why don't you want to say the pledge? I mean, you're not going to get in trouble either way, I'm just curious."
She said, "Well, I think they're overdoing this stuff about the airliners and stuff. I mean, there weren't any Afghan people in those planes and look what we did. It doesn't seem right to me."
I told her I was very proud of her. That despite pressure to conform, she stuck to what she thought was right and that was a very brave thing to do.
Her teacher hasn't asked her about not saying the pledge, but one of her friends did. When asked by her friend why she didn't stand up and say the pledge, my little libertarian said, "Because the law says I don't have to if I don't want to."
Brings tears to this old Lefty's eyes.
