Ihmhi

I attend public high school. In homeroom, we recite the Pledge of Allegiance as standard procedure. Worse yet, my homeroom teacher was in the military. I absolutely refuse to do it, so I usually either don't get up or stadn up adn turn my back (because of the integration of religion on government i.e. "One Nation Under God" etc.). She said I shouldn't "disrespect my country". How do I deal with this?

Toto

Tell the teacher your respect for the Constitution and Bill of Rights of this country has forced you to take this action. But be sure that you do not act disruptively or with disrespect to your fellow students.

If there are any more serious consequences than just being told that you are disrespectful, contact the ACLU.

Shadowy Man

Tell your teacher that you'd rather see people disrespecting the flag, but respecting the Constitution than respecting the flag and disrespecting the Constitution.

Shake

"Oh, I'd rather have a bottle in front of me,
than have a frontal lobotomy!"

Sorry, but it sounded appropriate in my head.

Tell the teacher you deserve extra credit for showing the class another way of exercising your freedom as a good American citizen.

Maybe print this out for her, so she can see the PoA in its original form:



edit to add: image courtesy of Heresy House ... look under 'Freebies'

Jet Grind

Tell her that you will show respect to the flag once they show respect for your beliefs (or lack of them).

Never

I just wonder if it would be possible if you might politely ask if after the class has recited the amended version of the pledge that you be allowed to recite for them the ORIGINAL pledge?

RawData

That is a beauty Shadowy Man! Mind if I use it? A little long for a bumper sticker, but usable as a tag line.

RD

Shadowy Man

Go for it!! I modified the "I'd rather see people burn the flag and wrap themselves in the Constitution than burn the Constitution and wrap themselves in the flag." that I read during the whole flag burning mess.

trillian

from http://humaniststudies.org/pledge.html

"The original pledge, written in 1892, was a patriotic commitment to the great American principles of unity, liberty, and justice for all. The pledge remained unchanged for 62 years. Every American soldier in World War II recited the pledge without invoking God. But during the McCarthy era -- one of the worst periods of intolerance this nation has experienced -- a religious statement, "under God," was inserted into the Pledge. It was no longer a pledge for all patriotic Americans. It excluded tens of millions of Americans with minority religious beliefs -- be they atheist, humanist, Buddhist, Confucian, Hindu, or just uncertain."

Respectfully, tell her you believe people of all faiths and of no faith can be patriotic Americans. As such you believe that the current pledge excludes all these millions of people and is something you just cannot support as a patriotic American yourself.

Ask her if she thinks that to be patriotic you must believe in a supernatural deity- or any concept of God.

Ultimately, you have a deep respect for the religious separation of church and state in the constitution which supercedes any McCarthyist propaganda.

Just try not to piss her off...Teachers are human and biased too and you may get a bad grade!!!

Trillian

RawData

Thank you!
RD