School Board Bans the Pledge Over ‘Under God,’ Continues to Accept Deity-Endorsing Public Funds – Opinion

The North Dakota Pledge of Allegiance was just removed by wokeness. Maybe it was just old-fashioned Leftism.

Within the Fargo Public Schools (FPS) Board of Education, citizens partly comprising the United States of America 86’d an oath to the United States of America. Seven of the nine elected members voted for plucking the Pledge.

It was decided on March 22nd that each biweekly meeting would be opened by the Pledge. Seth Holden, a member of the Pledge, suggested on July 28th that a course-reversing voting be set. It was set for August 7th.

Seth’s reason: The Pledge didn’t align with the district’s DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) values.

InForum local newspaper:

Holden was unable to recite the Pledge of Allegiance because he couldn’t understand two words.

Unter God.

Seth’s summary:

“[T]he word ‘God’ in the text of the Pledge of Allegiance is capitalized. The text is clearly referring to the Judeo-Christian god and, therefore, it does not include any other face such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism — all of which are practiced by our staff and students at FPS.”

He added that the Pledge did not include atheists or agnostics.

But it’s nothing personal:

Holden admitted he’s not trying to get rid of the Pledge of Allegiance, but that it couldn’t possibly fit in with the school district’s principles of inclusion.

The Board supported Seth on August 7. It would not be possible to recite the Pledge.

And it’s no surprise; per InForum, the assembly’s serious about social consciousness:

The school’s website states, “Education is better where schools are composed of students, teachers, and families drawn from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, cultures, “races”/ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations.”

The district’s site even offers a Land Acknowledgement:

Fargo Public Schools respectfully acknowledges that we gather on the lands of the Oceti Sakowin (Oh-chéh-tee Sha-koh-wee), who are the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakoda people, and the Anishinaabe (Ah-ni-shin-nah-bay) people of this area.

Seth may have something more to share about this; see his Official Member Profile Page:

Holden Restoration and Remodel is my general contractor and I specialise in renovating older homes. I am also a musician and the drummer for the band “The Forefeathers.”

The board may admit they’re land thieves, but they’re apparently unwilling to give back the booty. Perhaps that informed their principled stand against divine declarations — under limited circumstances.

As opposed to their rejection of “under God,” the Board evidently still intended to embrace taxpayers’ money — all of it branded with “In God We Trust.”

Speaking of taxpayers, some were appalled by the Pledge’s pulling.

And according to CBS News Friday, political pressure overturned the Board’s ban:

The school board in North Dakota’s most populous city reversed course Thursday on its decision to stop reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at its monthly meetings, following complaints from conservative lawmakers and an angry backlash from citizens around the country. …

North Dakota Republican governor. Doug Burgum was the promoter of new legislation this week, which would make it mandatory for public schools to use the Pledge and not mandate that citizens recite. Republican state Rep. Pat Heinert, a retired county sheriff, is suggesting that sanctions be put in place for public boards and commissions that don’t require the patriotic oath.

Angry emails and voicemails dominated Thursday’s special meeting to reconsider the vote. A refugee from war-torn Sudan who fled Nyamal, Dei played an offensive voicemail that was uttered by a racist, Nazi-sounding man. Dei was the only Black board member and several board members apologised to her for the most severe abuse.

Dei stated that reversing this decision would mean giving in to hatred. Before casting her single no vote, Dei paused briefly.

As for that “lone vote,” to be clear, Seth himself voted to reinstate the God-granting Pledge.

Holden who moved to cancel the Pledge said that while he felt frustrated by his decision, he was also heartbroken about the abusive comments made and worried about how the board would look.

“I’m also concerned about what might happen to this board in the future because we’re going to have to probably be prepared to take more heat than we normally do for decisions that we make,” he said, “because that there may be a perception of success.”

So in the end, it’s lights out for the Pledge’s ousting. Perhaps at the next meeting — in memoriam of the ill-fated effort — The Forefeathers can play “Taps.”

-ALEX

 

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