Pledge of Allegiance issues

Nancy Silva Stockseth, Writer

Throughout every school that I have been to, they all have one thing in common. They all do the Pledge of Allegiance. All a little differently but they all do it. Today’s world is always changing. Different events happen all the time. Because of this, people tend to form their own opinion. They might always voice that opinion in one way or another. Thus leading to the question, should students be punished for not standing for the pledge?

The United States of America has the freedom to express yourself. Everyone has that. So in school we have that. In an article, “Do students have to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance or the national anthem at school?” It reads. “Somewhat more recently, student athletes have held silent protests while the national anthem plays at high school and college football games. Teachers, coaches, and administrators regularly try to punish these students. They have to answer to the First Amendment and the constitutional right to freedom of expression in public schools.” So standing for the pledge began to be a regular practice yet throughout the years it has become an opinionated issue.

I actually think this is a good thing because the First Amendment is very important in America. People have fought for that right. Therefore because students have that right to voice their opinion, it should not be a problem to stand for the pledge. It should not be a problem if they do not stand for the pledge. Teachers, coaches, and administrators should not enforce this. It could be considered disrespectful to the flag and everyone who has died for it, but people can still have a say or opinion of that.