I think people react different to the symbols of America. Pledge of Allegiance, flag burning, Christmas, Halloween, even baseball and the rest of what one could consider to be 'Norman Rockwell' America. What one person believes is an exercise of free speech, another believes is an attack on America.
My view is that most free speech should be respected. Only when the liberties of others are threatened, or the public safety threatened, should the law step in. If someone wants to burn the flag as a protest of US policy, or as an expression of the power of free speech, go for it.
But, school to me should be protected a bit. For example, I would not like it if one of my kid's teachers was, say, a Wiccan, and constantly bombarded the kids with pro-Wiccan slants to lessons. It's hard to be neutral and still teach the kids, but just like kids are protected from certain 'free speech' exposures (e.g. pornography), they should be protected from certain subjects that parents wish to handle themselves.
Although I don't agree with the 'under God', and don't recite it, I don't tell my kids not to. When they reach adulthood, I'm sure it will come up sometime, as other discussions will. Sometimes its just better to let a kid be a kid; they grow up too soon anyway... |
