Why does no one say the Pledge of Allegiance anymore?

Art by Zazie Pritchett-Sidle

If you live in America, you are likely aware of the Pledge of Allegiance. First written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, the Pledge was created to be used in any country. It wasn’t until 1923 that it was changed to fit the United States. After a number of revisions from the years of 1892 to 1954, the Pledge eventually became the one we say today: I Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 

It is currently offered for schools in 47 states to say. Nebraska, Wyoming, Vermont, and Hawaii have no policy for the Pledge, though it’s been required to say at school in Nebraska since 2012. It is mandatory to say it in California, though the oversight is left to the school districts. In LAUSD there is a rule to say the Pledge of Allegiance daily, though participation isn’t obligatory. Here at ERHS there is a saying every Monday morning.

Yet many people at our school don’t participate anymore, and most haven’t said the Pledge since Elementary. I decided to dig deeper into this, and figure out why people don’t say the Pledge anymore. I have interviewed eight students, and four adults, and asked them their opinions and beliefs on the Pledge. This is the information that I have gathered.

It was a shock to me that all eight students I had interviewed don't say the Pledge of Allegiance. Most of the reasons were pretty similar; the most popular being that they don’t believe there is a point to saying it. This may be a generational thing, as older people I had asked (such as adults) said that they do believe there is a point, as they had learned about it in History class when they were younger. The point being, that it shows loyalty to the US, and teaches us about the values America was built on (i.e: liberty and justice for all). This also ties in with personal interpretations, such as the thought that the Pledge is said to honor soldiers who fought and died for America's beliefs. Yet many people don’t see the point of saying the Pledge, and this might be because we weren’t taught anything about it besides the words.

Some other opinions as to why they don't say the Pledge include not believing in it, not having the time to say it, and also the fact that you aren’t legally obligated to say it. Adding on to that last point, when asked if we should say it, many said they don’t think we should. The thought is that we really shouldn’t be obligated to say anything. After all, it is one of our beliefs that we should have freedom of speech (i.e. the First Amendment). This is followed by some opinions stating that you should only say it if you want to, and others saying they believe it should be said as it is an important part of our history.

The last question I asked is: if you were to change anything about the Pledge, what would you change? The large majority of people stated that they believe the “under God” part should be taken out. This is because our country doesn’t have an official religion, and there are some people who don’t believe in God. Some said the Pledge should respect the beliefs of all people, and hence, remove the “under God” part. There was actually a version of the Pledge without this part, and after researching I found out that the “under God” part was only added in 1954 to differentiate the US from the USSR’s “Godless communism”.

Overall, the Pledge of Allegiance, which was originally made to be a sign of loyalty to the US, has less and less people participating each year. This is due to personal beliefs, as well as the lack of information on the history of the Pledge. But even though many people don’t say the Pledge, remember that you are allowed to have your own personal opinions and beliefs on the Pledge. If you want to say it, say it, if you don’t want to, don’t, it's that simple. This article isn’t made to persuade people or change your opinion on the Pledge, it is simply just a look into the Pledge’s history and current impact on the school. This article also isn’t made to be an overall view on if the majority of the school believes in the Pledge or not. This is just a small look at the opinions of some of ERHS’s students.