He has the right to decline to say the pledge (I usually do myself, as my allegiance is to the Constitution, not a hunk of fabric). That doesn’t change the fact that he’s a totally lame gaywad.
Indeed, he has the right to refuse to say it. But, the poor kid in this story is being used.
I never liked the way the Pledge is written, either. I'd rather see it replaced by the natural rights clause in the Declaration that begins, "We hold these truths to be self-evident..."
At one point, I considered myself an atheist, and I thought the "under God" portion left the nonreligious out. But, I NEVER told my children my opinion of the Pledge. I made sure they stood respectfully and put their hands on their hearts. I only told them, "You can choose to say the words or not, but it's important that you stand respectfully before the flag."
At the time, one of my sons was 9 or 10 years-old, and he belonged to a group that was giving speeches onstage. They were supposed to say the Pledge but forgot. My son stood up and reminded them, and then he was the loudest kid standing there reciting it. You have to picture me, his then-atheist mom, in the audience watching this all go down... lol. Oh, the irony. Haha.
As I said, the kid in this story is being used by people with a twisted agenda. It's a shame.