On November 9th, 2016, for the first time, I did not stand or say the pledge of allegiance when it came on the loudspeaker in the morning.
When I walked into homeroom, it was not a normal day. My school was divided into four groups: the Trump supporters, the Hillary supporters, those who hated both and those who passionately abstained from politics. Sitting through my classes was torture. People were crying, others chanting, some complaining. It felt like being at war, except there wasn’t a clear divide between the people. I didn’t know who the enemy was.
When the pledge came on, I did not stand. The words rang in my head, but I couldn’t get up. I felt paralyzed, entranced, listening intently to the loudspeaker. It made me sick to my stomach, I couldn’t get the words out. I don’t know how else to put it. “One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all…” except this no longer feels true.
To me, it feels like America today is not an America we should be proud of. America today is not the America that the Pledge of Allegiance was written about. This has nothing to do with our new president, it has to do with the way our nation has been behaving, especially in 2016. It reminds me of the Antebellum Era, one of the most important times in our country's history. This time period was the late 18th century until the start of the Civil War in 1861, and it was one we should never forget.
The way our nation was before the civil war was not indivisible. We weren’t one nation, we were incredibly divided as the North and the South, the confederacy and the union. When I think about that divide, it reminds me of America today. Except we aren’t clearly divided as the north and the south, which is arguably worse. We are so divided as a nation that you could be completely against the person who lives right next to you.
Today, this is not a matter of Republicans versus Democrats or conservatives versus liberals. The parties have strayed so far from the ideals they had when they started that it’s hard to think that this is just a matter of one party versus another. Our country has become a nation of hate, with so many people exhibiting disdain for those who don’t believe what they do, regardless of party affiliation.
As a country, we need to learn from our history. It was Abraham Lincoln who said, “"A house divided against itself cannot stand," and this quote is now relevant more than ever.
As we think about Thanksgiving this past week, we should be thankful for our wonderful nation. We are so lucky to live in a place where we are so free to be who we want, and speak up for the things we believe in and speak out against the things we don’t agree with; many citizens in other countries around the world are not as lucky as we are. I am lucky that despite being a teenager still in high school, I am free to sit for the Pledge of Allegiance and exert my right to freedom of expression. However, we need not take advantage of America and discredit those whose opinions are different than our own our. We are extremely diverse as a nation, we need to celebrate and accept that as a country. We cannot allowed ourselves to become more divided than we already are.
Our Pledge of Allegiance should be a source of pride for our country. When we say it, we should be able to believe in the words. As Americans, it's important to remember to celebrate our country, however it’s hard to celebrate a country that’s at war with itself.
