The Pledge, Theologically Unsound Lyrics, and Other Words

I spend hours convincing my students that words are important. Words have the power to incite a revolution, to touch a heart, to change the world. You should write what you mean, using the exact vocabulary that conveys your intentions. 

So yes, maybe as an English teacher I’m particularly sensitive to the words I say, hear, and read, or maybe it's a personality issue. I'm not entirely certain. 

I’ll never forget the time we were in chapel at college. We were singing during praise and worship, a song directed to God, and the lyrics of the song went something like this:

"You’ve stolen my heart, yes, You have.

You’ve stolen my heart, yes, You have.

You’ve wiped away the stains

Broke away the chains

Yes, You have."

I stopped singing in the middle of the song as my schoolmates continued to belt out the lyrics around me, furrowing my eyebrows, pondering the first two lines of the chorus.

No, God has not stolen my heart. He doesn’t steal from us; we have free will.

And yes, I get that it’s a figurative phrase (English teacher, remember?)…but I felt uncomfortable with it. So, I stopped singing those lines of the song.

Call me crazy. Call me too literal. Call me whatever you want.

I’m ok   trying to be ok with that. I’m learning to be comfortable following my convictions, no matter what my family, husband, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, or baristas think. 

Song lyrics with bad theology aren’t the only words I do not say. It’s hard for me to admit that I also do not say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know that people will call me ungrateful. They’ll say I’m not “American” and I’m not patriotic. It’s happened before.

If you do say the Pledge, I will not call you a Socialist or say you are brainwashed or whatever. I respect your decision. It’d be nice if you could extend the same to me. Generic “you” here.

I always stand for the Pledge, out of respect. I don't make a big deal out of the fact that I don't say it. I am quiet and reflective every single morning when it is recited over the speakers at school every single morning. 

But I don’t say the words, those words penned by a Socialist minister in the 19^th century, intended to be chanted by schoolchildren across America, land of the free, protector of rights such as the freedom of speech (P.S. if you're looking for some light reading, http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/319/624/case.html is the majority opinion of the 1943 court case West Virginia State Board of Ed. vs. Barnette regarding forcing students to say it in school). 

And frankly, I think that exercising my right to not say the Pledge is a pretty American action to take. Just like I think being careful of the words I sing about and to God is a pretty Christian thing to do.

I know I need to take this one step further, too. I need to make sure my conversation is edifying, uplifting, and beneficial for those hearing it. I need to remember the power of words in every area of my life, not just my "soapbox issues."

Words are powerful. I just want to use them intentionally.