KANSAS CITY, MO—The Trump Administration’s plans to mandate the Pledge of Allegiance for all public school students were derailed last week when a sixth grader at Harry S. Truman Middle School organized a small group of students to exercise civil disobedience and protest the mandate.
“We all walked to the office and told the principal we just weren’t going to do it,” said one student who joined the group. “He asked us if we were sure and of course we said yes, we were, and he kind of looked at us weird and sighed. Then he told us to get back to class.” The brave act of defiance by these students sets the new record for most effective act of peaceful resistance in the United States since the Civil Rights Era.
This is the latest executive overstep by the Trump Administration, although one that has not seen much condemnation from Democrats. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) responded by saying that the nation is facing too many crises at once, and America needs to focus on supporting Israel before action can be taken at home. The nation-wide effect of these students’ protest is yet to be seen, but it may very well lead to more attempts at moralistic grandstanding amongst younger generations.
so proud of them. ♥