Loss of Meaning

My foreign cousins seemed genuinely concerned when they questioned the Pledge of Allegiance. To them, it is a peculiar act that appears cultish and strange. They argued that American patriotism was nothing more than nationalism. My family rarely discussed the United States while on vacation, but they were visibly upset. I asked what they considered wrong about showing respect for the flag of your country, to which they declared the pledge to be bizarre. They saw it as a rhythm or a spell because it repeats the same three to four word pattern throughout. Bump Bah Bah! Bump Bah Bah! Bump Bah Bah! To them it was brainwashing.

I laughed it off. I argued the Pledge is recited day after day by children, starting in elementary school. These kids may not even know the meaning of the words they are reciting, but continue the pledge because they are forced. Years of recitation void the pledge of meaning, and, as a result, the pledge has no power over an individual. It loses meaning just like a word that has been repeated many times.

This discussion reminded me of standardized testing. I have bubbled so many circles over the years that many tests have lost importance to me. Each test is seamlessly indistinguishable from the last one. Each is labeled with an acronym that doesn’t represent the importance of the test. The ACT is most important for college acceptance, so it’s understandable that some students see no reason to try on the MME’S. All I see is how the district has trained its students to be test takers and to think that the only way to be acknowledged is through a score on a test.