Response: And Justin Forahl
What memories I have of the pledge go hand in hand with a song called My country 'tis of thee. Morning activities could not begin in my elementary school until the gruff voice of our cigar-smoking principal came over the intercom, followed by the pledge, followed by the song, and finishing with a solemn, contemplative silence. It’s possible I spent a few of the early grades with my head bowed in prayer, eyes darting about to see if anyone dared keep their head up and eyes open, but later this merged into a moment of silence and this is how I remember it now.
The pledge was muttered with a minimum of effort, turning groups of words into incomprehensible phrases. I’m sure I wasn’t the only first grader to think that we were talking to the public about an invisible God, with the library thrown in for good measure, and some guy named Justin Forahl tacked on there at the end. I didn’t have any idea what the pledge was all about. But I really liked singing the song that came next.
There were a lot of potential American-idol wannabes in my class, although the concept was still 30 years in the future. Kids love music, there’s just no way around it, and none of us were shy when the teacher turned on the old record player and the first few notes sounded -- scratchy but distinct. Since it's pretty slow, we were all able to pick up the majority of the lyrics, save for one tricky spot. "Land where my father's died" wasn't a concept I got, so I just hummed. And I thought the next part talked about a "bride," which made no sense. But I sure did belt out, "From every mountainside -- LET FREEDOM RING!"
It wasn't until the sixth grade that I realized the pledge was a big deal. One of the kids in our class was a Jehovah's witness. He was also the only boy I had a crush on, so whatever he did was intriguing to me. He never had to stand for the pledge. He remained seated at his desk, hands folded respectfully in front of him, eyes cast downward. He recognized that he was different, and that most of the other kids despised him for it. But I thought he was brave. How difficult to stay in his chair when all the rest of popped up. By that time, we all said the pledge with the mininum of effort. Nobody sang the song, although we could hear the first graders down the hall screeching to the high heavens.
I was also uncomfortable because it had been drilled into my head through many years of Sunday School that idols were an abomination to God. And it felt an awful lot like I was praying to an inanimate object. The flag was starting to look a little sinister up there, limp and wrinkled at the front of the classroom.
So SGK is years ahead of my young self in her thought processes. I don't think you should be all that worried, Saint, unless she designs her own flag and system of government, invades her favorite islands, and forces you to sing her own twisted version of "My country 'tis of thee."
Labels: allegiance, idols, Jehovah's witnesses, My country 'tis of thee
posted by Adjective Queen @ 8:05 AM,
