Chase Suites Sales Manager Richard Zierke sells Sen. Tony Fulton on a bill forcing group recitation of Pledge of Allegiance in Nebraska schools

JoAnne Young of the Lincoln Journal Star reports that a Lincoln ex-Marine and Chase Suites sales manager has persuaded right-wing Lincoln state senator Tony Fulton to introduce a bill requiring all K-12 classes in public schools throughout Nebraska to be led in group recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance and requiring each classroom to display an American flag.

Now, the law requires one flag prominently displayed per school and the pledge, with its unconstitutional (when forced) religious oath, wisely is not required.

Zierke claims the pledge instills American "exceptionalism" and might make students consider stints in the military.

     A bill requiring the pledge likely would go to the Legislature's Education Committee, headed by Sen. Greg Adams of York. The key to the bill getting out of committee, he said, is whether it can accomplish what its advocates say it can.

     Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery, chairman of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, said Nebraska has a strong ethic of local control of schools, and he would be reluctant to tell districts what they must do every day in the classroom.

     As the saying goes, "If it's not broken, don't fix it," he said.

     "What's the problem we're trying to fix here?" Avery asked...

     "You can't make kids be patriotic," Avery said. "You can force kids to observe the symbols of patriotism under duress, but that's not going to make then internalize it."

Zierke is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic organization which successfully pressured the U.S. Government to add "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance during the McCarthy era.

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist Christian socialist who deliberately left out any mention of God in his civic pledge. In fact the original Pledge of Allegiance didn't even mention the United States of America, a fact which apparently doesn't matter to former jarhead Zierke, a self-described student of history, or else he failed to learn this fact during his attendance at "Hard Knocks University" or while obtaining his Masters Degree at "Black and Blue U."

The original Pledge states simply:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The Lincoln-Journal Star is conducting a poll on the Zierke/Fulton proposal. So far, respondents don't like it.

Among the more tart comments added to the Journal/Star piece about Zierke's initiative were these three:

     — We are not 'exceptional', in fact we are sub-par in many critical areas. Rah Rahhing over the flag every morning won't change that. Perhaps we could do it old school with the Front Hand Salute, too!
     — Being forced to chant the same words every day when you're a kid, leads those words to be meaningless. Saying a bunch of words over and over doesn't make one patriotic, or even teach it. Radicals pushing nonsense legislation along with their radical fringe agenda, when there are real problems to dealing with (like too many families struggling to find work, put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads) is unacceptable and irresponsible.
     — Forced patriotism is not real patriotism. You can't become a patriot by reciting a pledge anymore than you can become a dog by sitting on your front porch and barking.