To the Editor:

Why is it then that children must brush their teeth? The answer

is obvious, dental hygiene. Do many children fully know why they

must do it? No, but they’re made to do it anyways. I don’t expect a

student in the first grade to fully understand why they’re made to

go to school and learn, but I certainly expect them to go. In fact,

much like the law requiring the Pledge of Allegiance The Collegian

is opposing, all legislatures have codified mandatory attendance

for youngsters.

I’ll agree with the Collegian to a certain point; high school

students, and I’m even willing to give them middle school students,

maybe shouldn’t be required. I will not relent in teaching our

younger students, though, some sort of obligation to the home we

live in. When you live in this country, you are obliged to pledge

your allegiance to it. You don’t have to pledge allegiance to the

specific regime in power. But the principles of our founding should

be made important. Children will come to understand why their

brushing their teeth is important, and the same for pledging to

uphold the principles of country can be said. If they find the

pledge inappropriate, let them object, when they can understand

their objection to the Pledge as much as another’s support of

it.

The Collegian says that requiring the pledge is the ideology of

extreme nationalism; I say the requirement I pay student fees for

things I don’t support is the ideology of extreme communism. I

don’t like doing that, I shouldn’t be required to do so. Oh wait,

yes I should. I’m willingly a student at Colorado State, and pledge

my allegiance to this institution. Most importantly, I’m a citizen

of this country, and whole-heartedly pledge allegiance to the flag

of the United States of America

Robert Lee

Senior, political science