Just last year, teenage activist Sean Harrington was given a Citizenship Award at our annual banquet for his ultimately successful quest to get the Pledge of Allegiance reinstated in Arlington public schools. Despite this victory, secular and liberal forces are working to remove the Pledge from schools in Brookline.

Brookline Political Action for Peace says that the Pledge has no educational values and “is reminiscent of totalitarian regimes” and will ask town meeting voters to pass a non-binding resolution on the idea in November. They are also framing it as an “anti-bullying” measure. Opponents of the resolution, including veterans, family members of 9/11 victims and the father of a solider killed in Afghanistan, are critical of the idea.

“That’s nuts. This is just really stupid,” said Jack Steele of Duxbury, whose son, 1st Lt. Timothy Steele, was killed in action in Kandahar, Afghanistan, last month. “I just find it so disrespectful when I look at the number of men who have given their lives so we could live the way we want.”

Source: Boston Herald