School's Foreign-language pledge draws protest

[Harold F. Schiffman]

I hate to say it, but the US Pledge of Allegiance has an "official" text.

I just did a FindLaw search and I found the text of the Elk Grove
(California) case brought by the avowed athiest Needow on behalf of his
daughter, challenging the "Under God" line. The text of the Pledge was
established by law in 1942 (Chapter 435, 56 Stat. 377. Section 7) and
amended in 1954 (Act of June 14, 1954, ch. 297, 68 Stat. 249) to include
the words "one Nation under God".  A later statute (2003) codified how the
salute to the US flag is to be conducted (and again gives the text of the
1954 Pledge).

Nothing, however, states that this has to be in English; but since the
official text IS in English, I think Mr. Linton may have a case, and we
may have a problem here.

Here's the URL from Findlaw:
http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/briefs/02-1624/02-1624.mer.ami.sherman.html

Here's the URL for the manner of the pledge to the flag:
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/uscodes/4/chapters/1/sections/section%5F4.html

HS

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005, Aurolyn Luykx wrote:

> Mr. Linton sounds like he's from the "if English was
> good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me" school
> of thought.
> Aurolyn
>
>
> --- "Harold F. Schiffman"
> <haroldfs at ccat.sas.upenn.edu> wrote:
>
> > >From the Annapolis Capital,
> >
> http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2005/03_10-14/TOP
> >
> > School's foreign language Pledge draws protest
> >
> > By RYAN BAGWELL, Staff Writer
> >
> > Monday it was Spanish. Tuesday it was French.
> > Yesterday it was Russian,
> > and this morning it was Korean. At Old Mill High
> > School, the morning
> > Pledge of Allegiance was recited over the public
> > address system in foreign
> > languages each day this week. To Charles Linton,
> > that's just plain
> > un-American.
> >
> > "I ain't gonna stand up and pledge my allegiance to
> > the United States in
> > any foreign language," said a furious Mr. Linton,
> > who pulled his
> > ninth-grade son, Patrick, out of class this morning.
> > The practice
> > celebrates National Foreign Language week, Old Mill
> > Assistant Principal
> > Mary Lappe said, and has been done at the school for
> > years.
> >
> > But Mr. Linton called it an unpatriotic display. He
> > won't send Patrick
> > back to school until Monday, unless the school
> > restores the pledge to
> > English. "We got people in a war right now," said
> > Patrick, 15. "It's not
> > right." School officials said reciting the Pledge in
> > foreign tongues will
> > continue as planned this week.
> >
> > "I think it's a good-faith effort on the part of the
> > school to recognize
> > the diversity of the student body," said Kenneth P.
> > Lawson, school system
> > deputy superintendent. "I don't necessarily think
> > it's a bad thing." Board
> > of Education policy expressly says the Pledge should
> > be recited each
> > morning, with teachers and students standing to face
> > the flag. The policy
> > explicitly says it should be recited in English.
> >
> > "I think if they took this action on a regular and
> > routine basis we'd
> > probably want to take a look at the policy, but
> > since it's only happening
> > for a week, I don't think that violates the spirit
> > of the policy," Mr.
> > Lawson said. Mr. Linton disagreed, saying it's an
> > offensive practice that
> > should be halted immediately.
> >
> > "I compare it with wearing a cross to church upside
> > down," he said.
> > Patrick's unease apparently caught on during
> > yesterday's Pledge. "I sat
> > down, and when I sat down, one other kid sat down,
> > and I looked behind me
> > and three other kids sat down," Patrick said.
> >
> > Board policy says students and teachers can excuse
> > themselves from
> > participation in the morning flag salute. But it
> > also states, "any
> > individual who commits an act of disrespect, either
> > by word or action, is
> > in violation of the intent of this section." Mr.
> > Linton pledged to do
> > whatever it takes to stop the foreign language
> > observation of the Pledge
> > before tomorrow's recitation.
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
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