Friday night, I was sitting with my friends, waiting for the New Trier football game to start. We were all anticipating the start of the game, all excited and all hoping for a good game with of course, a victory. But as is customary in the United States, we all came together to sing the national anthem before kickoff. Well at least some of us did. As I looked around with my hand on my heart, I observed many of my fellow classmates, Chicagoans and Americans completely and utterly ignoring the special ritual at hand. Shockingly, I found that few people had their hands on their hearts and even fewer were singing. And I dared to pose the question; are we, as Americans, losing some of our patriotism?
One of my favorite parts of American football games is the singing of the national anthem. I find it so beautiful, so mystifying and so moving. The national anthem serves as a common symbol for all Americans, it represents us as a country. It tells a story, a story that we are all proud of. This story represents who we were, who we are and who we will become. In my mind the national anthem is something that should always be respected and honored.
Another example that concerns me is the pledge of allegiance. At New Trier, or at least in my advisory, no one stands up and recites the pledge, except for me. I am the only one in my advisory who does so. I remember Freshman year, there were about 7-10 girls in my advisory who stood up and recited the pledge each morning. Now, as a Junior I am the only one. I guess this is a perfect example of the way minorities generally decrease in size over time. Today at lunch I was talking to my parents about this topic, and I asked them what the norms in their high schools were regarding the pledge. They both told me that they pledged to the flag in elementary school, middle school and in high school every day. In addition, they had a moment of silence after the pledge. Why has this changed? It seems like we have degraded the value of this tradition. I personally believe that it is important to express your love and devotion to your country. Has this expression of patriotism stopped? Or, as I'd like to think, are the people just doing this in other ways in which I am not aware of?
I honestly hope that this is not an accurate representation of the way Americans seem to be becoming less patriotic. I want to believe that Americans are still patriotic, and still proud of their country. I know I am, now more than ever.
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| New Trier Varsity Game, September 20, 2013 |
4 comments:
Yup.
I couldn't agree more. That's how it is in my advisory-- or excuse me, advisery as well. I recall that the town I used to live in was not the same at all. Huntley, Illinois is mostly farmland, nothing too exciting. But cheerleading, football, and all that jazz was a big deal. And at every game and during every advisory, the pledge was said and the anthem was sung. Everyone was respectful. Perhaps there's nothing better to do...but it's like that in almost every high school I've ever been to, save ours. Nowadays people just talk through it. The level of patriotism at New Trier saddens me. And quite a bit.
I agree with you that the percentage of Americans (teenagers in particular) that say the Pledge and National Anthem has been steadily decreasing over the years, but I don't think that this phenomenon is caused by a lack of patriotism. There many other ways in which people choose to express pride in their country, if they choose to outwardly show it at all. Taking your example of the New Trier football game this past Saturday, I also noticed the lack of people joining in and singing the National Anthem. However, less than half an hour after the game had started, the New Trier team made some accomplishment, although I couldn't tell you what. In response to this, the whole student section began a loud and steady chant of "USA! USA! USA!". Although not entirely serious, this is just one example of how people choose another way to express their patriotism. As far as the Pledge goes, I think there are those that don't join in the Pledge because they don't entirely agree with it's message. As Preston wrote about on his blog last weekend, the phrase "Under God" being included in the Pledge is something some don't agree with, whether religious or not. Additionally, maybe some choose not to join in simply because they think that mindlessly chanting the same set of words every morning is almost falsely patriotic, by just following the script without truly thinking about what's being said. I agree with you that a shift is taking place in our culture... but I think that patriotism is just changing, not decreasing.
I totally agree! To me the pledge and anthem are not about pledging your life/body/virgin sacrifice/soul to America. It is about thanking those who defend the right to not say the pledge/anthem. There is also a physiological aspect to it. It unifies us, gives us one voice as a nation, and forms bonds among people, just like playing on a sports team or being in a band would. To me, the pledge/anthem is about bringing Americans together and reminding us that we ARE American and that those around us are to.
Do you think that people don't say it because they are against America, don't believe in American values, don't support "a nation under god" or "liberty and justice for all", or are just plain lazy?
I also wrote a blog post about the pledge (as Ben said) but I wrote it from a religious standpoint. There's a lot of language I disagree with in the pledge (including the phrase "under god,") and I personally don't say the pledge because of that language in addition to the fact I don't like to completely "pledge my allegiance" to any nation or entity. I wouldn't describe myself as a patriot, and I completely disagree with many decisions made by the government, and I think that's a completely valid reason not to say the pledge.
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