"Good"

"Good"

    What does it take to be a “good” American citizen? Has a set definition ever been made?

    I have always believed that it is the smaller actions that matter more than the larger ones. But when the little things don’t mean as much to you anymore, are you less of a citizen?

    Everyone morning, two minutes into second hour we all groggily stand up and mutter the pledge of allegiance, some even completely ignoring it to struggle on a quiz . I remember elementary school, where it was a competition to see who could remember the most lines and who could scream those lines the loudest. It was one of the highlights of the day, because we knew everyone in the school was screaming the same word at the same time with us. Even if we didn’t know what the words meant, it made us feel like we were a part of America. What changed in just a couple of years? Are we less of a “good” citizen if we don’t scream the pledge every morning? We’ve been standing up every day and placing our right hand on our hearts since we were five years old to the point where the pledge has become just a part of our normal routine, and doesn’t hold any special significance in our day to day lives.

"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.”

    This is the pledge of allegiance. I’ve never understood how a sentence so simple could summarize our nation’s values.  We pledge loyalty to our flag, our flag that represents unity and our democracy in our nation. We are one nation, and we are a nation that values liberty and justice above anything other value. Our pledge is a beautiful single sentence but do high-schoolers like me take the time to appreciate it? I’ll be very honest. I don’t. I’m one of those people who just stand facing the flag and mumble the first and last few words. I don’t mean to be disrespectful to the symbol representing my freedoms that I have living in this country, but it naturally happens as I try to make sure my voice doesn’t stand out in the crowd.

    I believe knowing the meaning behind what we are saying is more important than blindly conforming to rules. No one had ever explained to me what the pledge really meant, so I didn’t take it too seriously when I was younger and just did what I was told. I didn’t even really understand why our country had a flag, or why we had to speak to it every morning. The American flag can have different meanings, at least according to Sarah Vowell, “The flags were purely emotional. Once we went to war, once the president announced we were going to retaliate against the evildoers, then the flag again represented what it usually represents, the government.” Our flag can mean anything to anyone, from a place of refuge and opportunity to home. To me the flag is a symbol of the freedom I have to go to school and get an education. As I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, I pledge allegiance to the country that has given me the opportunity to learn and get a job.
    Our pledge is too significant to become a sentence that we say in a monotonous tone every morning. All it takes for this sentence to become significant in our day to day lives is if we take the time to appreciate it. Even if we don’t say it loudly, if we value it and understand what it means to us then that’s all it takes, in my opinion, to be a good citizen.
-Shivani Konduru

Comments

  1. Meghana KSeptember 17, 2017 at 10:58 AM

    Shivani,
    This is so true! I never realized how meaningless the pledge has become. I like how you organized your argument and totally agree with you. Kids should actually be taught what the pledge means and should learn about its importance.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Claire YSeptember 17, 2017 at 11:15 AM

    I liked how you connected the discussion in class to something part of our daily lives. I agree with you - reciting the pledge of allegiance over and over again can degrade the meaning of it. Some may argue that saying the pledge less often may even inspire more patriotism in Americans because then, the pledge would be more than just a series of words we are required to mumble off. Instead, the rarity of it would allow it to become something more special and thought provoking.
    Your post really opened my eyes to how students are reacting to the pledge differently from when I remember it. I have band second hour, and we never say the pledge in that class. I find it very interesting that times have changed since middle school when people would proudly shout out the pledge.

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