The Pledge_ A History of the Pledge of Allegiance - Jeffrey Owen Jones [76]
Although this particular bill is effectively dead, a spokesperson for one of the sponsors of the bill said, “It accomplished what we hoped for. The courts have not tried anything since.”
If they do, there is plenty of precedent to suggest that politicians will react to public support of the Pledge by finding new ways of securing the oath’s place as one of the touchstones of American political life. But the issue is certain to be litigated again and perhaps eventually to find its way once more to the Supreme Court. If so, whichever way the high tribunal decides, Americans will go on arguing about it long afterward.
12. THE ROLE OF THE PLEDGE TODAY
After more than a century and a quarter, the Pledge of Allegiance continues to exercise a profound and powerful influence over Americans. Incredibly, the many political battles and legal trials have not really altered it.
On the contrary, the periodic eruption of wrangling over the Pledge, its wording, its constitutionality, and its meaning, have helped shape Americans’ view of themselves, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right, without having sent Bellamy’s oath to the dustbin of history or relegated it to the status of historical footnote. In fact, it has become something of a national Rorschach test, constantly revealing what it means to be an American. Like the Constitution, though with far fewer words, the Pledge is a “living” document, one whose identity is bound up with vigorous discussion, interpretation, and struggle. If combined with its continued popularity—recited more often than any other document of national identity—its longevity makes the Pledge seem almost like a “founding” document of the American experiment.
In this sense, the Pledge is both a timeless reaffirmation of basic shared principles and a shared ritual, like the singing of the National Anthem or voting on election day. Recitation as part of a group makes one part of something larger, but what is that “something”? If it is the idea of liberty, then why should we say it? And shouldn’t we be free to reject it? After all, we don’t require the singing of the Anthem—or even voting. How did the Pledge rise to status of Commandment?
The answer to that, as we’ve seen, is not so simple. At the heart of the American experiment is change and reinvention, such as the “living” Constitution, subject to reinterpretation. Yes, we are a nation of laws, but we are also a nation that believes firmly in the people’s ability to change those laws—at their will.
Thus Governor Michael Dukakis vetoed a Massachusetts bill requiring teachers to lead classes in the Pledge of Allegiance and “paid dearly for it in his presidential campaign,” as William Safire wrote in 2004. Taking on the Pledge is akin to spitting on the flag. What Dukakis did, as the George H. W. Bush campaign was more than happy to point out, was insult the flag, which is America. Dukakis gamely tried to argue that he was doing his patriotic duty, upholding the Constitution, but it didn’t wash. The Pledge was as American as apple pie, maybe more so. And it had the advantage of brevity, the ring of a jingle—“See the USA, in a Chevrolet.” It is conceivable that, as with the Chevy, we will remember the Pledge long after the flag and the republic for which it stands disappear.
For the moment, however, the flag, the Pledge, and the Republic survive. In fact, over the last decade, in part because of the events of September 11, 2001, the Pledge has become more prominent in schools than ever. The Christian Science Monitor reports that “since 9/11 more state and town laws actually require students to say the Pledge of Allegiance than ever.” In 2004, Safire counted forty-two states with mandatory recitation laws.
For some, reciting the Pledge in school is what makes it, well, a school. Like show-and-tell, the Pledge belongs to time-honored primary education traditions. And this is a testament to Bellamy’s genius: if you get school participation,