13 October 2010

The Pledge...

If a person does not stand during the pledge of allegiance or the national anthem - is it considered a negative Social More? Would you consider it Deviant? Should people stand? Thoughts...

19 comments:

haileyG said...

I feel like many people judge too easily when kids don't stand for the pledge. We can't be forced into doing something that we don't want to do, its our choice if we want to stand and say the pledge or not. While i my self always stand up and say the pledge i don't look badly upon people who stay seated, as long as there quiet and respect the people who actually want to stand and say the pledge. I don't think that staying seated is a deviant act necessarily, however it is out of the norm. I think that the mojority of people (in school) do say the pledge every morning. But, if you look at the US as a whole how many working adults (not in the school system) say the pledge every morning? I'd ay not many. And just because people don't say the pledge dosen't mean that they are trying to down grade our country. They may love the plave there in, but does that mean that there obligated to stand and say the pledge i don't think so. I believe it's everyones own rights to stand if they want to and to stay seated if they'd like, as long as there not infringing on other people's rights.

jeremy karp said...

I do not feel that it should be nessasary to stand for the pledge every morning. the pledge is about being glad we have all these freedoms we do in america. It is true that the pledge represents being proud of our country, but it is not saying you hate the country if you dont say it. The pledge is suppose to remind people of what our founders thought was right and they stood up for those beliefs. i feel that as long as you live the way a proper citizen should act it is good enough. Infact I feel that saying the pledge or the national anthem becouse you are told to is very opposite of the message they are intended to have. s long as you are respectful during the pledge I dont feel you need to stand up. I dont consider it a deviant act becouse you are not saying you dont like america and you dont like what the pledge is saying. By not standing you are simply exercising your rights.

kdougherty said...

I don't believe that not saying the pledge is an example of a negative Social More. People should not be obliged to stand, since afterall this is a free country. I know that some kids don't stand to do the pledge because of their religion. In the pledge it says "One nation under god" I have met two people in my school life that have not stood to do the pledge, and I don't consider them deviant. These people were Jewish. Although most of America is Christian, it doesn't mean that God is the ruler of America. To some, their god here is Heri, Allah, or Jehovah. This makes saying the pledge awkward, and even against everything they believe in. I've heard of teachers forcing their students to do the pledge albeit it's illegal. I personally think that they should get rid of the pledge in schools, since it causes many problems.

AFontana said...

I don't think that when kids don't stand for the pledge in school they do it with the intent of being disrespectful. It is generally out of laziness. I also don't think that student are really taught about what they are doing every morning. The students just got through the motions of the pledge everyday and they do not necessarily know what they are saying and why they are saying it and what they are standing for. I think that more kids would stand if someone put this small task into perspective for them. I don't think that students do it with a bad intent so I don’t think it is necessarily deviant.

golfer4life47 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
golfer4life47 said...

I agree with Ashley 100%. People who do not stand out of respect for the flag have the intent to be lazy or just like being contrarians. I honestly see those who do not stand for the pledge grinning as if they are "bad" because they choose not to stand for it. The way I view it is, this is where we live and if you do not respect the land you live in you shouldn't live here. People seem to look over the facts of all the rights and freedoms we enjoy that most others can not. It is only until our freedoms are in danger of being taken away that we realize how precious they are. All they ask is for you is to stand for 10 seconds and say a small pledge, if you can't give that back to the U.S. for all that the U.S. has given you is a disgrace.

RubenS said...

Many people view standing for the pledge differently. Some choose to sit because they are too lazy or are busy talking to their friends. Some just don't see the point in standing. Not standing isn't deviant just rude. The point of standing isn't to make the teachers happy but to respect the fallen men in battle who protect the rights we have today. Being "too lazy" isn't an excuse because the pledge only takes a minute. Standing is letting the soldiers known that they have a reason to fight. However, people who don't stand shouldn't be looked less of, its a personal choice. Just ask them, Who died for your rights? That might change a few minds.

Sarah Riordan said...

My view about standing for the pledge is that people should stand. Though, I would not go as far as to say it is deviant not to stand. What I mean is if a person chooses not to stand for the pledge, they should have a very good reason. For example they did not stand because it conflicts with a religious belief, or they broke their leg and can’t stand. To me those are justifiable reasons. But if a person chooses not to stand for the pledge because they simply did not feel like standing or they were tried and didn’t want to, well in my mind those are not a good reasons. We stand for the pledge to respect the people who are giving their lives and who have lost their lives in the past. It only takes a few seconds to show someone who is risking his or her life you care.

kraynock said...

I don't think that not standing for the pledge is a negative social more and I don't consider it deviant. This is because not all people are doing it to be disrespecful, they're just simply lazy and don't think about there actions. Even I didn't stand for the pledge until Mr.B asked our class to give him one good reason why we shouldn't. I believe that standing for the pledge is a sign of respect for the people who are fighting and fought to protect the country we live in. I personally think that there is no excuse to not stand. Even if you arn't Christian and don't want to say the pledge, you still live here, and should show respect. But at the same time, I don't expect all of the others in society to look at the situation the same way or realize how serious the whole situation is, so I don't look at is as a negative social more or deviant.

Briana Chantel said...

In class we discussed how important standing for the plege was because Mr B felt like many of us didnt stand for the wrong reasons & he needed to voice his opinion ; after that talk i relized that standing for the pledge is a chocie BUT when thinking about it, it should be a right to because people we know & other peoples family & friends are over seas fighting for our saftey & protection so not standing is a kind of sign of disrespect to those great people . so i think standing is very important & everyone should !

KarleyE said...

I believe that not standing for the pledge is deviant, if the reason is that they just do not want to stand because of laziness. For example in my homeroom the teacher said she would bring in food every once in a while if everyone stood, and since she made that promise everyone stands for the pledge. You should not stand for the pledge just to get a reward but to honor the people that are serving our country as we speak. I believe that people should stand for the pledge. I don’t believe that if someone doesn’t stand for the pledge that it is looked at as a negative social more. Many people have different opinions whether you should stand or not but if I see someone sitting during the pledge I don’t see them as being deviant or breaking a rule, because technically they are not.

bcosta said...

Yes, i beleive that if people did not stand for the pledge of allegiance or the national anthem it would be considered a social more. This is because its an act of disrespect to not only the soldiers that are fighting for the rights of this country but the people that are around us as well. We pledge for ourselves,families, and friends. It would not be deviant it would just be ignorant to not at stand for the pledge that is only about 30 seconds. People should stand, but people should'nt be forced to say the pledge, since it does have some strong nationalistic words.

colleen said...

If a person does not stand for the pledge of allegiance or the national anthem,i don't think that it should necessarily be considered a Social More. Perhaps labeling it as a Social Folkway is more appropriate. Meaning, it's frowned upon in society to not stand, but there is not severe punishment. You can't change the way people think about it or make them stand for something that they're dead set on not standing for, no matter what their reasoning is. However, I do think it is Deviant to not stand for either the pledge or the national anthem. After the lecture in class Mr. B. gave about how we have no reason other than pure selfishness to not stand, I thought about the entire thing a little differently than I had before. After all, what does that say about us? That because we were given the freedom to go to school and choose whether or not to stand, that we can choose not to simply because it's the easier choice? I don't think it's right that people are fighting for us to be able to live the way we do now, and yet people say they just "don't want" to stand, or are "too tired" to do so. It's about fifteen seconds out of the day to stand, and it's Deviant to think that you're better than standing. I never realized how strong my opinions were until we had that talk in class; but after having it, it makes sense to stand, no matter what reason you think you can give to justify not standing. At the least, you're honoring the people who have fought and are currently fighting for our freedom.

Gmilardo15 said...

I agree with Ruben entirely. Every morning people are either tired or happy to see their friends so they proceed to talk or not stand for the pledge. Many students say they are too lazy to stand for the pledge, they also say they don't even say the pledge. But even though you may not want to say the pledge because of your religion or some other reason, students should still stand to give respect to the soldiers that are fighting for their right to choose which religion to follow. Soldiers spend their lives fighting for our rights, the least we can do is spend a minute a week, 5 days a week, standing up and respecting them and give them thanks for what they are doing.

Jakub Zera said...

I definitely think this is a negative social more. I wouldn't take it as far as deviant, but it does show a negative aspect of our society. People should definitely stand. Even before I enlisted in the Marines I always stood for the pledge. Many people don't realize that in other countries you are not even safe enough to go to the grocery store. In some countries women speak only 5 times a day, and in other countries there is no electricity past 10 o' clock (at night). Our Military fights for the rights we enjoy everyday. Rights such as freedom of speech, free religion, and many more are only shared in America with that much freedom. I personally stand to thank all the people serving us overseas and all the people serving us on our own soil. Nobody ever asked them to go to the Military, no one forced them, and yet they still go. Americans (as a whole) are simple lazy and take mostly everything they get for granted. Get up for 25 seconds and stand to thank your country.

kristen24 said...

I believe that if a person does not stand during the pledge of allegiance then it should not be considered a negative social more. The kids in our day and age are not taught the same respect as the kids back in the day. I think that if someone was taught the meaning behind the national anthem or pledge of allegiance then they would respect it more and stand up while it is being recited. I would not consider not standing for the pledge deviant as long as they are not talking or disrupting others during it. I think that out of respect everyone should stand for the pledge of allegiance.

stephanieG said...

I believe that it is a person's decision to make whether they choose to stand up or not. They shouldn't be forced to stand up if they aren't being rudely against it. Showing respect is being silent and not being rude and obnoxious during it, as if you don't care. But as long as someone sits there in a respectful manner, then it shouldn't be any big deal. Another thing is the people who do sit during the plegde don't sit intentionally because they're against it,the reasons they sit is either because they're too lazy and tired in the morning or even just because no one else stands up so they don't want to make the extra effort if no one else does. But since it's not hurting anyone, it shouldn't be made into such a big problem.

Neel said...

I dont think that standing up for the pledge is necessary. Saying the pledge is about showing that you have respect for your country and you could do that while you sit down. I agree with Jeremy when he said that as long as you are respectful during the pledge and not talking then you sould be able to sit through it if you want. Also, just because you dont stand for the plege that does not mean that you are a bad person. If you dont say the pledge then there are many other ways you can show support for our country even though you are not required to.

SamWilson said...

Since Mr. B mentioned standing for the plegde, I realized that we should stand or at least continue the motions and recite it if unable to stand for a justifiable reason like Sarah said. I try to stand every time because my cousin and friend are serving right now and other people I know served before and I want to show my respect to those who fought and survived and those who died for our freedom.
However, I dont necessarily think it's deviant not to stand for the pledge, only rude and lazy. or they are not quite certain as to the purpose of standing as others here have said.
I also agree with what Hailey said about how adults who aren't in school and whether or not they recite the pledge every morning. It doesnt mean they are disrespecting their country or being rude or lazy, they simply forget to because it's not a daily routine as it is for students.
All in all, in school, students should stand for the pledge unless they have justifiable reasons.