I must be missing the point here. What's the deal with the courts having to get involved in Florida's decision to allow parents to write a note if their child is not to participate in saying the pledge of allegiance each morning at school? What happened to using common sense and working with others to solve problems?
From the religion standpoint, there may be some parents that feel that their child should not say the pledge because it contains the words “under God”. Why can't that child participate by standing and saying the pledge but simply not say the words “under God?” They would not be participating to the complete extent called for by section four of the flag code as it is explained at http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm. The individual is pledging allegiance to the flag and the country, not God. So personally, if they do not speak those two words, should it truly matter?
The pledge and the requirement to say it has been discussed in the legal system even before the words “under God” were added to it. According to the USHistory.org website, the words “under God” were added in 1954, but according to the CRS Report for Congress titled “The United States Flag: Federal Law Relating to Display and Associated Questions” which can be found athttp://senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30243.pdf.
It is so easy for people to take matters to the courts for resolution that the arts of problem solving and compromising have fallen by the wayside. When things start getting out of hand, it is much easier to call the police or take them to court to resolve the problem than it is to try to sit down and discuss the matter like civilized people. Instead of learning to give a little and work out problems, it is much easier to just expect everyone to give in to demands. Why should we compromise? It is much easier to take it to the courts and let some judge determine who is right and who is wrong.
Compromise requires that we talk to one another and search for solutions to problems that will work for all concerned. If compromise was used instead of court battles, then the courts could be used more for handling other legal issues. If compromise and common sense are used in the classroom, open discussions between parents, administration, schools, and even students, then the issue of a student saying the pledge should never have to be taken to court. What would it truly hurt if individuals were given the option of not saying the words “under God” or if everyone sat down and found a solution that worked for those particular individuals in that particular classroom?
