Starting in kindergarten, we have allocated thirty seconds of every morning to reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I remember hearing the announcement to do the Pledge, and sighing because I had to stand and perform this seemingly pointless task. As a little kid, I didn’t know what the Pledge of Allegiance really meant or why we had to do it. All I knew is that we would be performing the monotonous, fancy sounding, thirty-one worded stanza daily. While it was against the law for teachers to force us to say the Pledge, it was expected. This “patriotism” was assumed of us at a young age, and it was also given with the mindset that we were the best country. Dictionary.com says that the Pledge of Allegiance is a “patriotic vow”, a promise to support and defend their country. Does this mean that saying the pledge suddenly makes me a patriot? Is patriotism …show more content…
All they wanted was equality. It has also been pointed out that these athletes are using their rights that were fought for. A letter signed by 35 US veterans stated, "Far from disrespecting our troops, there is no finer form of appreciation for our sacrifice than for Americans to enthusiastically exercise their freedom of speech” (A letter from Medium.com). This demonstrates the complex idea of patriotism, where actions such as standing for the flag in order to show respect, can be changed in protests if their justifications are legitimate. Patriotism allows change as long as it is for the benefit of their country and citizens; therefore, the concept of patriotism should accept peaceful protests with the intention to fix injustices. As Americans, we value speaking and standing up for what is right, so giving opinions about how to make America better is not only audacious, but it is in fact patriotic and shows what it means to have an appropriate