[coconutt2000]

I'm of the opinion that our job isn't to force the kids to recite the pledge, but to make them want to recite the pledge.

[Tribune7]

Ditto that

[Rightwing Conspiratr1]

I'm of the opinion that our job isn't to force the kids to recite the pledge, but to make them want to recite the pledge.

Coming soon... ACLU files suit on behalf of children whose parents try to make them want to recite the pledge of allegiance.

[G.Mason]

"I'm of the opinion that our job isn't to force the kids to recite the pledge, but to make them want to recite the pledge."

To be able to do that "teachers" would have to teach American history in a positive light.

The precept that our Founding Fathers were nothing but "old dead white guys", unworthy of any adulation, comes with a price.

[HHKrepublican_2]

Odd, that the entity that they are refusing to pledge allegience to, is the one that protects their right not to recite it.

[Bob J]

Agreed. I'm as conservative as they come but forcing kids to recite a pledge seems so, well, fascist to me. If you love your country (or don't) that will be in your heart and no amount of regurgitating phrases in public will change that. It only appeals to the "goose steppers" (left or right) who insist on strict conformity.

You can't just have an "opt-out" option for kids either. If it is something being suggested by the schools and teachers, it will have the stamp of authority and there will be compulsion factor.

What they should do is reinstate civics classes where the kids learn about their country so they can develop "allegiance" on their own.

[highball]

I'm of the opinion that our job isn't to force the kids to recite the pledge, but to make them want to recite the pledge.

Well out.

Mindless recitation doesn't mean anything. Moreover, I happen to believe that it devalues the Pledge.