Pledge of allegiance saga spawns lively discussion

A reading class at Noble Adult Education has followed the Pledge of Allegiance saga at South Portland High School with great interest. Besides being a complex and fascinating story, it has given us opportunity to explore the word “ironic.”

Social media posters who assumed the students behind the pledge change are immigrants might be surprised by our class’ initial response.

Support for optional recitation of the pledge fell along place-of-birth lines, with those born in the U.S. siding with the students and those from other countries criticizing it as “too much freedom.”

The story also prompted discussion of the origins of the pledge. It was written in 1892 as a marketing tool for a children’s magazine publisher wanting to sell U.S. flags to every school in the nation. The words “under God” were added in 1954 during the Cold War.

We are reading Laura Hillenbrand’s “Unbroken,” about an American bombardier’s World War II experiences, and found it ironic that the original flag salute was right arm extended toward the flag with palm down, and, at the phrase “to the flag,” palm turned up, as if to lift the flag. After the war, it was changed to hand over heart because of the original salute’s similarity to the Nazi salute.

The actions of the young women in South Portland generated lively discussions about the evolution of a patriotic symbol, freedom of speech, text-based analysis of differing points of view and compromise.

Nora Irvine

South Berwick

Copy the Story Link