Proud to be an American?

I found myself wondering if I should even become a teacher while sitting in my Intro to Education class last night. The topic of some 14-year-old kid that refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance came up, and it seemed like so many of my classmates were outraged. The kid is an atheist and says that the Pledge promotes Nationalism. I think his moxie is kind of cool.

I personally refused to "remain standing for a moment of silence" in my high school on the basis of separation of church and state, which usually is just a term people use. I remember watching The Little Rascals (from the 30's) and they left out the under God part. Of course, The Little Rascals was never a model of political correctness.

Anyway, the class all seemed to agree that the anti-Pledge kid should be ashamed and that (this one got to me) if he doesn't want to pledge to the flag of the United States of America, he shouldn't live in America! But isn't that the whole point of being an American? To all who take this stance, I have my old standby reply (which came originally from my dad):

I may not agree with your opinions, but I'll defend your right to have them.