For many years, it has been tradition that the school day is started with reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I can recall that almost every day of my elementary school years started with saying the pledge, with our right hands over our hearts and our little eyes gazing up at Old Glory. But as I moved up through the years, I began to realize how the number of students who participated and the number of teachers that enforced saying the pledge began to decrease. Oh how this saddened my prepubescent heart.

Maybe it’s my old soul, or perhaps it’s the patriotism that comes from sharing a birthday with America’s independence day that causes me to have a great sense of loyalty and pride for this great nation. Saying the pledge always has and always will be a normal part of my school day. It seems that perhaps the real meaning of reciting the pledge has been lost somewhere along the way. When Francis Bellamy first wrote the original version of the pledge in 1892, his hope was that this pledge would help instill a sense of pride in one’s country and to allow citizens to express how grateful they were to their country for all it has given them.

It is understandable that some students and people may prefer not to say the line including “under God” for religious reasons. That is up to them and their beliefs. But it is my belief that any man, woman and child that has even the slightest bit of pride in the U. S. of A. should give a little back and recite the pledge. Is a little pride, patriotism and loyalty too much to ask? It’s the least we, as United States citizens, can do for this country that has given us so much freedom.

Though there have been many court cases, some well-known cases include challenges brought by Dr. Michael Newdow, regarding the pledge in schools, and a few have actually won, the pledge still stands strong in many classrooms across the nation.  The majority of the time, the courts seem to agree that the pledge is an important aspect of the school day.  We are in an age where people are offended by so little, and the pledge is a reason that many are offended. People can believe what they wish and think what they want, but there are some things that are truth no matter where someone stands.  As the pledge says, “…of the United States of America, indivisible…” How is it that we have become so divided over a pledge of unity? We must be united as a people and give thanks to our nation and recall all of the people that have fought for our nation to help keep us free.