"Why Would I Ever Make A Promise to A Flag?"

There is something eerily regimented about watching children recite words they have yet to understand.

What’s a pledge?  It’s a promise

What’s allegiance? It means you will be loyal and honest

It is a trying and humbling experience teaching the ins and outs of a practice you do not necessarily remember learning yourself. But there I was, standing with twenty five-year-olds watching their faces turn up toward the flag like the Peanuts Gang caroling on Christmas. What began as an exercise in memorization became a moment that paralyzed me with contradictory emotions. Yes, I was proud, and as much as it felt like we were creating miniature-indoctrinated drones, there was an element of hope that maybe this next generation would force the flag to make good on all its promises.

My student asked a very reasonable and literal question. Why would I ever make a promise to a flag?

The answer I had at the moment sounded something like this: You aren't making a promise to the flag, really. The flag is just a symbol for the country. You are making a promise to be honest and to be a good friend to the country. She smiled and said, I can do that. I'm a good friend.

And that's when my emotional paralysis began.

As I scanned the ethnically and socio-economically diverse classroom, I was proud of them. I was proud they stopped fidgeting long enough to ask probing questions, stand up straight, and put their hands over their hearts. I was proud of the country that finds the language to educate children who speak disparate languages at home. I was hopeful that each of them would add a gift to this world that would not be there without their presence. And I was fearful the road would be more challenging for some than others.

Throughout our lives, how many of us, have been loyal, giving and overly just to friends who didn't quite deserve us in the first place? Please do not misread my intentions, I am about the most star-spangled person you will meet above the Mason-Dixon line, but if we are going to make children recite words that they are meant to fully comprehend, then I damn well hope the flag keeps up its end of the bargain. I am not simply talking about the right to a decent education or health care or reasonably priced produce items, it's the fact that this place we call home requires each of us to believe the same truth in exchange for our loyalty: if you have the good fortune to be a U.S. citizen, then you will not be forgotten.

I love these children. While their presence in my life can often be described as the best birth control on the planet, their happiness and sense of belonging is what I strive to cultivate with our time together. Hardships are a universal occurrence, and as much as I would like to follow my munchkins around for the next thirteen years to protect them from the world, I realize that is an impractical [and legally unsound] solution. So how do we ensure today’s children grow up in a nation that never forgets their existence? We empower them with the right words, disposition and fervent desire to act when injustices become commonplace. An empowered child becomes an empowered adult who recognizes the perfect pitch at which to scream, THIS [insert injustice here] NEEDS TO CHANGE. With a generation full of an informed, screaming populace, who could ever deny their presence? So, readers of this post, if you know a child, tell him the greatest part of being a good friend is making your good friend an even better one. 

~carter