“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.”

I struggle with carrying on traditions, just because they are long held.  That goes for religious, patriotic, even family traditions.  I may or may not express that struggle verbally, depending on my comfort level in the situation, but there is always a bit of resistance.  I struggle because I find that the further away that you get from the establishment of such traditions, the original meaning is lost, unless you continuously come back to the the origin story.  You can even build on the original or establish new/greater meaning and ownership when you collectively or individually connect the the history of those traditions to your own experiences.  I guess that’s my problem.  We don’t explicitly teach the meaning of our rote traditions and we don’t add to their meaning as we participate day-to-day.  Two traditions that I have struggled with since I left the Army is the rote singing of the Star Spangled Banner at sporting events, and when I entered education our reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school.  With all the uprisings that have occurred over the last month and with the recent celebration of July 4th, I’m not the only one that is questioning the singing of the anthem.

As a military veteran the Anthem and the Pledge have significant meaning to me.  As an 18-year-old I raised my right hand and committed to sacrificing my life in service to this country.  As I began my military career I began learn in detail about the soldiers that served Our country in war and peace time from the Revolutionary War through Kosovo. Then my time to serve in combat along with my college classmates and unfortunately lost 12 of them in gave their lives. When I hear the Star Spangled Banner it evokes some emotions as I think about my classmates that have died and those warriors that sacrificed before me.  When I moved to Maryland and attended any sporting event (professional through high school) I used to cringe every time I heard the crowd draw out the “O!” in “Oh say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave.”

When I recite the Pledge I get chills thinking about all the experiences that I had in the military that shaped who I am.  Just 2% of teachers are military veterans, and obviously none of our students have served, so folks with direct ties to the military are few and far between that are in our schools.  I feel that it is my responsibility to have a staff that breaks down the meaning of those two texts, so that our students can have multiple perspectives, and can make informed decisions on why we do what we do and what the implications are.  Along with developing that knowledge in our students we have to be honest about the complex context these documents were written in.   The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, as part of a patriotic program for schools around the country to coincide with opening ceremonies for the Columbian Exposition in October of that year, the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the New World.  The original Pledge was revised to specify the pledging of allegiance to the U.S. flag, along with the addition of “under God” as a statement against “godless communism” in 1954.  I write this in the midst of a movement to remove all statues and symbols (like the Confederate Flag) of a white supremacy around our country.  Reciting a pledge originally written to commemorate the anniversary of Columbus is extremely problematic.  Again, why I struggle with the recitation without understanding.  Does our current status change the meaning or sentiment of the Pledge?  As I write this I am beginning to question myself about my shortsightedness on patriotism.  Just because I have a specific perspective on these two traditions, it does not make me the authority on what patriotism should look like for all of my students and staff.  Though a teacher has not served, it doesn’t make them any less willing to pledge their allegiance to our flag or connection to our country through a family member or friend that served.  How do I know that the singing of the Anthem doesn’t spur a young person’s emotions to eventually serve our country?

Reciting the pledge is a part of California Ed Code.  I’m not a rule breaker, but we will focus on understanding the meaning as a school community.  To me the last few words really get to the heart of what it means to be an American, and unfortunately we are living in a time where the struggle to make sure that there truly is “Liberty and Justice For All.”  So what do those words mean and how will they connect to education?   Liberty is freedom.  As difficult as it is to admit, I’m part of a system that doesn’t teach students true liberty.  A school that teaches liberty, builds community, helps students discover who they are, welcomes in their family and culture, teaches them not only skills, but to find their identity, the importance of intellectualism, and to think critically and ask critical questions of everything.  Justice is equal treatment under the law.  The law has to see everyone as human first of all.  If those creating the laws do not see the humanity in every individual, then we have the responsibility to get that person out of the law making role.  The same goes for those that execute the law as well.  This goes directly to our current movement to reform our criminal justice system.  Many say that it is too flawed to simply reform it and call for the abolition of the police and to rebuild the system.  There is even a movement for abolitionist teaching with our education system.  From a school admin perspective that requires me and my team to take a hard look at how we truly feel about all students, especially those that are oppressed by our policies and the enforcement of our policies.  I know these are both highly controversial topics, but does anything truly change without first being broken down?  Those that oppose the abolition movements call the abolitionists crazy thugs or terrorists that are committed to ending “our” way of life in America.  For those that are not negatively impacted by law enforcement or school systems it may seem like the worst decision possible, but for those that have been oppressed by the systems, ending the systems and giving the oppressed the opportunity to experience liberty and justice would be a relief.   Even considering those that aren’t negatively impacted by our systems, would they notice a difference if the systems were changed?  Does liberty and justice for all correspond to less liberty and less justice for those that have always experienced it?

My goal moving forward is to create a school that pursues “Liberty and Justice for All.”