Justices Decline to Hear Pledge of Allegiance Challenge

[rug]

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up another challenge to school-led recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance.

The justices declined without comment to consider a federal appeals court decision that upheld a New Hampshire law requiring schools to set aside time daily for students to voluntarily recite the Pledge.

The case was one of two in which the lawyer and activist Michael A. Newdow has challenged school recitations of the Pledge because of the inclusion of the words "under God."

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, in Boston, had ruled in November that the New Hampshire requirement does not violate the First Amendment's prohibition against government establishment of religion or other provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2011/06/justices_decline_to_hear_pledg.html

[LAGC]

1. The pledge should be banned for shamelessly promoting blind nationalism amongst our youth.

If American values really meant anything, they would speak for themselves and we wouldn't need blind loyalty oaths for children to mindlessly recite each day in school.

Plus it offends Jehovah's Witnesses, who have to feel intimidated each time they refuse to recite it. That should be First Amendment grounds right there.

[rug]

2. My daughter hasn't recited ir since first grade.

She has two days left in third grade.

[struggle4progress]

3. I used to refuse to stand for to pledge or to recite it when I was in high school

in the Vietnam War era. The very conservative school folk didn't like that. I'd just tell them that it was against my religion and that the flag was just a piece of cloth, so it didn't make any sense to pledge allegiance to a piece of cloth. They didn't like that much either. So what?

I'll say it from time to time now, if it seems appropriate, but I leave out the quasi-religious words added in the McCarthy era