Today a serious question was asked of me: am I being disrespectful, or was I standing up for what I believe in? This question was in regards to standing up for the pledge of allegiance. Wait! Don’t click away, I know what you are thinking, "Not that old topic again!" This old topic is still prevalent, and it is time for the light to be shown on it in a new direction. We, referring to people who do not stand for the pledge, have never really asked ourselves if what we are doing is disrespectful; we just automatically answer, “No!” We never properly evaluate ourselves.
I have always thought, as some of you might have, that of course, we are right. It is our right to not stand for the pledge. We are not saying we hate America, and we respect and appreciate the troops, but how can we pledge and promise ourselves to a country that oppresses and discriminates towards certain groups? I only re-evaluated my actions when in class, the teacher commented on the lack of students participating in the pledge. He said that he personally found it disrespectful that we did not stand because he loves his country. It would have been easy for me to roll my eyes with the rest of the class, "Just another old male who doesn't get it." However, instead of standing up and arguing against his position like another girl did, I turned his opinion inward and wondered if my actions are indeed rude to some extent. He had gone on to reference the quote, “When in Rome, do as the Romans,” arguing that you must respect the culture of the country you are in. We can understand his view without agreeing with it. Some people see the pledge as a way to show loyalty and love towards America, and it offends them when others seem to hate the place they hold so dear to them.
To rebut these oppositions, I refer to our original reason for not standing being not to disrespect, but to make a point.
The point being, we will not stand with a country that seems to stand against us. No one can support the racism, sexism, other prejudices and discrimination occurring in America. The opposite side might refute that the pledge is not about supporting what is wrong in the country, but the good it has and the rights our troops earned for us. As much as I appreciate these attributes of America, nothing diminishes the evil being done around the nation. Who can form an alliance with that? Also the whole "When in Rome..." saying does not translate to me as it did to the teacher, because in my eyes, respecting customs and the culture of a country is important, but that does not mean you just blindly follow them either, because you also have to respect yourself and your morals as an individual. You cannot compromise your morals just so others feel comfortable, especially when it does not harm or insult, but fight against those who do.
Also, the pledge has parts in it that we do not all find true. Saying the pledge would be like signing a contract you do not agree with. First off it says, "Under God." What god would that be? Any god I believe it to be or a specific god? And what about the people who don't believe in God? "With liberty and justice for all," yet some people are still getting killed unnecessarily, because the police, the people here to protect us from danger, "are scared," and some get away with their unjust killings or just the penalty of paid leave.
To turn the table, I could go as far as to say that standing for the pledge can be considered disrespectful. By standing, you are saying that there is either nothing wrong with the direction America is going in, or you just do not care. When you stand, you show your promise to a broken system, a country that discriminates against over half of its population, that if you are not a white male, you will never catch a break in this nation, that when you stand, you stand for the oppressors and spit on the oppressed, that you undermine those of us trying to make a difference and change a corrupt land, that fight against liberty, equality and justice. There are three sides to every argument, your side, my side, and all the ambiguity lost in-between.
This being a time for patriotism means we need to actively work to make the country better. Not standing for the pledge is a peaceful form of protest to get you point across without speaking a word, so even if they try to silence you, your actions still show your true intentions. The best way to win in the world is to let your morals shine though, blinding your opponents, never throwing a single blow. Let your recumbentibus be in your words, not your fists, because once you result to violence, you have reached the end of your intelligence.
