Wrong to Salute this Nation in a Different Language? Madana Kloss 4th
Recently, a school in New York was celebrating "National Foreign Language Week" by reciting our nation's Pledge of Alliance in different languages. It was going great- until we reached Arabic day. The parents of the Jewish students complained tremendously about how displeasing this was to them. Due to these complaints, the children missed out on the opportunity to learn the Pledge of Allegiance in other languages such as Italian and French. This isn't the only incident where parents weren't open to the idea of their children learning about different languages/cultures. Earlier this year, parents in Florida weren't too happy about their children studying Islam in history class. This day in age, we need to change. We must start opening up to the idea of coming together and learning about one another. We need a paradigm shift in order for America to remain one of the top nations in the world. I can connect this to the racism and prejudice acts during the Civil Rights Movement and how afraid/against America was to combining different cultures and joining them together.
I do not think it is offensive to say the pledge of allegiance in other languages. Part of living in American is living amongst various ethnic groups. I think this is what makes our country unique and special. I think people should be allowed to say the pledge of allegiance in any language that they desire. Additionally, I think it is extremely important that we can put aside the past. The conflicts in the middle east are never ending because of our inability to forget the past. For this reason and others, I would absolutely learn about other cultures.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/23/opinions/randazza-pledge-of-allegiance-arabic/index.html
If more people embraced this attitude than there would be a better chance of having peace in the Middle East.
ReplyDeleteYes, if there was more understanding and mutual respect it would lead to an easing of tensions. Hatred can only exist in the vacuum of ignorance, and therefore if we are able to explore and shed light on different cultures we can learn to live in peace with our neighbors and fellow human beings.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what we need, America has to be more of a melting pot and embrace others cultures if we want to achieve a more peaceful society.
ReplyDeleteLauren Kuehmeier, period 2