Comment by aestra | Hacker News Reader

Comment by aestra | Hacker News Reader

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You cannot be suspended for not saying the Pledge. You cannot be compelled to say the Pledge. Your rights were violated. The Supreme Court of the United State has ruled that it is well within your right to not say it. See West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_State_Board_of_Ed...

Writing for the majority, Justice Jackson stated: "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein."

"Words uttered under coercion are proof of loyalty to nothing but self-interest," wrote Black and Douglas in a concurring opinion. "Love of country must spring from willing hearts and free minds, inspired by a fair administration of wise laws enacted by the people's elected representatives within the bounds of express constitutional prohibitions."

In high school I repeatedly got in trouble for not participating in the pledge. I acquired a copy of this case. My government teacher told me I was reading it wrong, and actually the verdict was the pledge is required. It mostly ended one day in the principal's office when I politely threatened to contact the aclu.

Interesting that so many free speech cases were pioneered by the Jehovas Witnesses.

Not really. Pure self interest can explain this. As far as I know they were (and still are) underdogs. Free speech is one of the things that favours underdogs, and is not easily openly attacked.

The thing a lot of people don't understand about free speech is the kind of speech that needs to be protected is the unpopular kind; the kind that very few people agree with. Popular speech needs no defending.

I don't understand a lot of Americans who run around talking about "America the free" and then try to pass laws to limit the expression of anyone who doesn't live exactly like they do. Freedom means some people aren't going to agree with you, and you're going to have to accept it, and allow them to express themselves too.

Spot on.

This is right, but there are many religious minorities who engage in unpopular speech. I was raised as a Quaker for example. I just think it is interesting that Jehovah's Witnesses have been a group which has laid so much of the groundwork of this sort of thing.

It also makes me wonder how much cross-pollenation there has been between Anabaptist movements, Quakers, Jehovah's Witnesses and other similarly non-mainstream groups. That however is a question for another time.

This only applies to public (state run) schools. Maybe he got suspended from a private school.

Yup. Uptight preppy hole near Chicago.

Whoops, you're right. I didn't consider that the poster went to a private school, in which case all bets are off.

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