Mixed Emotions About Pledge

A Senate resolution was passed 99-0 in support of the pledge and sought intervention by Senate counsel with regard to the ruling.

In public statements, elected officials tossed about phrases such as "ridiculous," "nuts," and "political correctness run amok" to describe the ruling.

In Chapel Hill, the ruling of the traditionally liberal circuit court was met with mixed reactions.

At Glenwood Elementary, one of Chapel Hill's public schools, the pledge was discussed in a historical context but was not recited on a regular basis even before the ruling, explained parents of children in the school.

"The Glenwood PTA acknowledges the cultural diversity of our schools and respects the tradition of all our children's home countries," said PTA vice president Christy Tyson.

"In that light, it is unfortunate that the children of the 9th Circuit may be denied the opportunity to learn the pledge, as it embodies the American traditions of loyalty, liberty and justice."

What angers many about the ruling is that it seemingly flies in the face of the Founding Fathers and their values.

But others point out that the phrase "under God" wasn't part of the original pledge.

President Eisenhower signed an act in 1954 inserting the phrase so that "from this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our Nation and our people to the Almighty."

The act was passed at the height of McCarthyism, when some viewed it as "un-American" to deny the presence of God.

"I don't understand what the big problem is. Why don't they just change the words to what they were in 1953 and omit 'under God'?" said Mary McKinney, professor of psychology at UNC and mother of four.

"It's sad that it will never happen in this ultra-conservative climate."

Seven year-old Maggie Meshnick, a student at Glenwood, said she thinks students should have a choice when it comes to recitation of the pledge.

"I think you should say (the pledge) in schools ... like, everyone who wanted could go to the gym and say it, but if you didn't want to participate in it you don't have to."

Maggie studied the pledge in her first-grade class, where her teachers discussed the words and the history of them.

But the pledge was not adopted as part of the daily routine.

On what the pledge means to her, Maggie said, "I feel that it's the group of words that represents our country."

U.S. Attorney General John Aschroft has announced the Justice Department's decision to request a rehearing en banc by the full 9th Circuit.

The rehearing would go to a panel of 11 judges on the 9th Circuit.

The panel would have the power to overturn the previous decision made by the three-member panel of the appeals court.

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.