What if I told you the majority of American schoolchildren recite the pledge of allegiance to their country without even knowing what it means or where it came from? The fact of the matter is, the pledge of allegiance has become a mindless ritual that is taught at such a young age that kids do not question its origins and meaning. This problem also goes much deeper than just the pledge of allegiance, all the way down to the core of a family’s values and beliefs. I believe that if a generation of children were to grow up free of any religious influence from their parents, there would be a much more even spread of people across all the over 4,000 religions in the world today. The root of the problem is that children are exposed to only one set of ideas at such a young age, and they are not given the opportunity to think for themselves. If people want to live happy and enlightened lives that improve the world, they need to question the norms of society.

Reciting the pledge of allegiance is something most schools in America do on a daily basis. The problem is, a large number of the children have no idea what it even means. There are many controversial things about the pledge that are rarely talked about. Our founding fathers built the country on the idea of the separation of the church and state; an idea that seems to be ignored when the phrase ‘under God’ was added to the state-backed pledge. And hardly anyone knows that before it was changed to putting your hand over you heart, children would salute the flag with an extended arm, not unlike a Nazi salute. You are also not forced to say the pledge aloud; you are required to stand to show respect to the flag, however. The children who pledge have little idea about what they are saying, and if they do not even know what they are pledging to, what is the purpose?

Up until about 5 years ago, I had been reciting the pledge of allegiance in school without giving it very much thought. Let’s go back a school day in 2010, when my little brother came home from school and said something very surprising to me. I am sitting in my living room watching television, when my brother walks in and says, ‘We didn’t do the pledge of allegiance today in school. Is something bad going to happen to us?’ This makes me realize I have no idea what the pledge is even for or if we have to do it, even though I have been saying it every day for over 7 years. I immediately go to the internet to research it, and find out that it is, in fact, within your constitutional rights to refuse to say the pledge of allegiance. This comes as a huge shock to me, because growing up my classmates were always scolded in front of the class if they chose not to say it, being called ‘stubborn’ and ‘non-patriotic’. One of the other popular arguments is that soldiers are dying so you have rights, but isn’t refusing to recite the pledge also exercising the rights they are protecting? I am not saying the pledge of allegiance is a good or a bad thing; that is for you to decide. The point is all people should think about whether what they are doing is right or wrong in their own minds, and not just do whatever keeps them out of trouble.

One of the biggest problems in world today is that people, especially young children, are taught the religion of whoever has more power over them- whether it be parents or some form of missionary. They often stick with this religion for life and do not give it much thought, because that is all they have ever known. One of the most shocking moments of my life happened when I walked into a church few years ago. I walk in and the first I see is this big, beautiful display trying to recruit people to go to African missionaries to convert the African people to Christianity. This seems strange to me, because I remember sitting in history class being taught about all of the missionaries created hundreds of years ago in North America, and how horrible it was that these innocent natives who already had their own religions were all being forced to change. The people running it approach me, saying how they are trying to spread the word of the Lord throughout the world. An important thing I notice is that most of them have their children with them, appearing to be aged in the range of 4-8 years old. One comes up and hands a sheet of paper to me, and I ask the child what it is. He replies, ‘I dunno.’ I realize the children are actively participating in the recruitment without understanding what it is for, handing out flyers and informational sheets to people walking by. This isn’t seen as a problem, but what if unknowing children were being exploited by adults to support a radical, unpopular new idea? Faith in a religion has an unbelievable amount of power to control someone’s morals and actions throughout their life. Children need be allowed to have the opportunity to explore many different options to find out what they believe, something they cannot do if their parents drill one idea into their head for their entire childhood.

In conclusion, there are many things that influence people’s lives that do more harm than good. Schools in America are still forced by law to hold a ritual where children are pressured to recite a pledge that they think very little about. Parents also pressure their children far too much about which religion they should be, to the point where most young kids have no idea that other religions even exist. Choosing a religion has so much implication on someone’s life that they need to have opportunity to pick what they believe without being heavily influenced. People need to consider what society tells them and think about what is right and wrong for themselves if they want to live an educated life and help make the world a better place for everyone.