Patriotism does not belong in public schools
These days, it seems appallingly obvious that many people see the instillation of patriotism in young people as tantamount to the instillation of mathematics. Rest assured, plenty of children have gone on to be entirely successful and well-minded American citizens who contribute a vast amount to this country without the often over-stated benefits of institutionalized patriotism imposed upon them. At its core, mandating a form of patriotic practice in schools, whether through the national anthem or Pledge of Allegiance, is advocacy of a subjective belief system and it is the role and duty of the public school system to be a wholly objective and unbiased custodian of developing minds.
To maintain this objectivity, belief systems such as religious doctrines must be kept from classrooms. The case is no different for patriotism, for, like religion, its adoption is a personal matter and one more suitable for consideration outside of public schools. Furthermore, with the removal of patriotic exercises from schools comes the opportunity for parents to step in and take an active interest in molding their children, if they so choose, to be exuberant stewards of national values, an endeavor for which they, rather than the government, are much better suited.
For shortsighted minds suffering from the delusion that a majority is always righteous and who counter opponents of coerced patriotism with a sense of enmity, cruelly demanding that these objectors 'get of out of the country,' please rub the stars and stripes out of your eyes and realize that just because people disagree with certain U.S. policies does not mean they need be forced out by a derisive, intolerant majority. They have as much a right as any American, through dissent, to attempt to usher in progressive change to make this country a more efficacious national community. Allowing deliberations over patriotism to be left to the private minds of children and parents is definitely in pursuit of such progress.
