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The Pledge should be recited every day, but once a week is better than never.

Why? I don't believe that reciting the pledge actually accomplishes anything, except getting people riled up on both sides.

Compulsory patriotism is the best way for kids to grow up NOT loving their county. Teaching them to appreciate the vision of the Founders is better than reciting any pledge.

Why not both?

When I was a child, I recited the Pledge daily. Although, at that time, I might not have known the exact meaning of the words, I DID know that this was something special. And because I recited the Pledge daily, my understanding of the words grew WITH me. As I got older, the actual meaning of what I had said, daily, for all those years, became precious.

I think that your statment, "Compulsory patriotism is the best way for kids to grow up NOT loving their county," could not be further from the truth, at least for me. I would bet that many others think the same.

That is NOT to say that teaching the visions of The Founders should NOT be done as well. But I see the necessity of both.

"Why? I don't believe that reciting the pledge actually accomplishes anything, except getting people riled up on both sides."

How very odd, I grew up saying the pledge every day in elementary school, this was in the 60's and nobody ever got "riled up"....imagine that.....in the 1960's!

Missouri's gov. just signed a bill today that allows the pledge to be said in schools once a week,.....it's a good start.....

The Pledge should be recited every day, but once a week is better than never.
Why? I don't believe that reciting the pledge actually accomplishes anything, except getting people riled up on both sides.

Compulsory patriotism is the best way for kids to grow up NOT loving their county. Teaching them to appreciate the vision of the Founders is better than reciting any pledge.

This is the equivalent of saying that children shouldh't be compelled (by their parents) to attend religious services and classes, because that's "shoving religion down their throats." The problem with that sort of thinking is that children MUST be taught these things, and if not compelled, they will be out doing other stuff! Children can not make their own decisions about these things, since they simply don't know any better. Reciting the Pledge, along with a discussion of what makes this country better than others (i.e., why you are saying the Pledge) will instill an understanding of the responsibilities that come along with the privaliges that living in this country give us all.

Mark