Child stands up for LGBT rights

When asked to stand up to say the Pledge of Allegiance, Will Phillips, a fifth grader in Arkansas said, “With all due respect, ma’am, you can go jump off a bridge.” Phillips was in the third day of his boycott against the pledge.

This controversy surrounding the Pledge of Allegiance has been a hot debate for many years, but the issue that is usually disputed is the phrase “under God.” Atheists and Agnostics most commonly contest saying the Pledge of Allegiance in schools because the phrase contrasts with their beliefs.

But Phillips opted out of saying the pledge for very different reasons: He disagrees with the part of the pledge claiming “liberty and justice for all.”

After having a discussion with his mother, Phillips began to contest this portion of the pledge because there is not liberty and justice for all, specifically for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. His family advocates equal rights for the LGBT community and he supports its beliefs.

“Well, I looked at the end and it said ‘with liberty and justice for all.’ And there really isn’t liberty and justice for all. Gays and lesbians can’t marry. There’s still a lot of racism and sexism in the world,” Phillips said in an interview with CNN about the stand he took.

The Pledge of Allegiance was written by Francis Bellamy in 1892. Looking back in history, it is obvious that the pledge’s “liberty and justice for all” meant white males, not the entire American population.

Traditions are great and all, but sometimes things need to be changed or updated to keep up with current beliefs.

Thankfully, the public is a lot more accepting of minorities, such as the LGBT community. But Phillips brings up a good point – they still do not have the same liberties as the rest of Americans, making it hypocritical for him to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Constitution’s First Amendment grants citizens freedom of speech. Forcing children to blindly recite the Pledge of Allegiance each morning hardly seems to support this amendment. Children are susceptible to manipulation because they are not fully developed. It does not seem fair or appropriate to engrain a dated pledge into their impressionable minds, especially when they don’t understand the abstract concepts presented in it.

“For which it stands” is more likely “for witches’ stands,” in most children’s minds while reciting the pledge. Wondering how witches were related to the United States of America is a daily routine in elementary schools.

Clearly, Phillips is not an average fifth grader. He recognized the hypocrisy of the pledge and has the courage to stand up for his beliefs – his choice is laudable. Phillips deserves credit for calling attention to the phrase “liberty and justice for all.” Hopefully this controversy will perpetuate the eradication of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and help the LGBT community gain equal liberties and justice.

Stephanie Kitchens is a second-year journalism student at the University of Cincinnati.