Pledge Mom Quotes

I gave my son a brief history of the pledge of allegiance. He asked a few questions and I answered them (with a Google check or two on my phone). Then he took a deep breath and said, “Mom, I don’t think I should say the pledge of allegiance anymore. Would that be okay?” All activists want their kids to magically turn into badass activists, but I wanted to make sure that this was a decision my son had come to after some thought, and that he had the reasoning to be able to defend that decision. I asked him why he didn’t want to say the pledge. “Because I’m an atheist, so I don’t like pledging under god. I don’t believe in pledging to countries, I think it encourages war. And I don’t think this country treats people who look like me very well so the ‘liberty and justice for all’ part is a lie. And I don’t think that every day we should all be excited about saying a lie.

However, since my standard uniform is black anyway, I have nothing to worry about in that regard. I’m already wearing black jeans and a black leather jacket. I’ve got a grey t-shirt on underneath, but I figure that will be fine. Instead of heading back to Staten Island, I call Mom and let her know that I’m staying downtown to have dinner with a few of the girls from work. She tries to sound happy for me, but the unmistakable anxiety creeps into her voice when she asks what time I’ll be home. I promise that I’ll be back by midnight, and this time, I pledge to myself to keep that promise. Taylor will understand. She’ll have to

clench. Why couldn’t she tell Barbara the truth and end this charade? She blurted out, “From the minute I first held you, I loved you more than I was able to show. I’ve always found it hard to say those words. I can’t help it.” Bursting into tears, she ran to the bathroom. Barbara followed and knocked on the door. “Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. The day is sad enough without this. Is there something I can do to make you feel better?” Margie struggled to compose herself; her

Morning Offering O Jesus, through the immaculate heart of Mary, I offer you the prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of your sacred heart, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, and for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen. Allegiance Prayer Dear God in Heaven, I pledge my allegiance to you. I give you my life, my work, and my heart. In turn, give me the grace of obeying your every direction to the fullest extent. We

I know, Mom, and I promise you, I will always be there for you whenever you need me, I pledge this to you. You need to go to bed now; you have to be up early. Good night, Mom.” She wiped a tear out of her eye as she looked lovingly at me. She cracked a truthful, delicate smile as she walked toward her bedroom. I might have been wrong, but it seemed to be a smile born out of relief.

From where I stand today, though, the idea of asking schoolchildren to pledge loyalty to a political system seems exceedingly curious. Especially since we know full well that the practice of recitation will largely be abandoned in adulthood, when the age of reason has presumably been attained. Apparently my daughter had reached that age and I was not about to interfere. “Mom, I’m not going to stand there and lie,” she explained. “And it’s not exactly liberty if they force you to say it, is it?

revelation of warm possibility. Organizers had filled the Dodd Gym with seven hundred people. Before Kennedy spoke, six-year-old Ellen Anich crossed the stage, carrying a bouquet of flowers she had brought to present to the candidate’s wife, Jackie Kennedy. That six-year-old girl was now sixty-eight when I tracked her down for a conversation. “A bunch of grayheads sitting around the table thought it would be cute to have a little girl deliver the flowers. My uncle, Tom Anich, was active in Democratic politics,” Ellen explained, “so I was chosen. We had no money. Everything I wore belonged to a rich girl across the street. That day, I practiced handing things over…. But when Kennedy reached down to accept the flowers in his wife’s absence, I held back, confused since they were meant for his wife.” Kennedy explained that his wife was pregnant and resting. “My mom’s going to have a baby, too,” young Ellen announced. “I promise if you give them to me, I will make sure she gets them,” Kennedy assured her—so finally, she surrendered the roses. The crowd roared with good-natured laughter, sending the night in a positive direction. The high spirits continued as Kennedy spoke of a Democratic bill Eisenhower had vetoed, the Area Redevelopment Bill. He pledged that he would work for its passage so that Ashland and other depressed communities throughout the country would receive the aid they deserved from their government. On September 24, 1963, Kennedy returned to Ashland, this time as president of the United States. The harbor had not been cleaned up and the grave economic situation had not improved. As president he had passed and signed the Area Redevelopment Bill, but its modest funds had not filtered down to Ashland.