My 6 year old has come home singing patriotic songs lately. While I’m not thrilled about this (not feeling particularly patriotic lately and don’t believe that we’re the land of the free anymore), I get that this is a part of public school. He’s been singing grand old flag and Yankee Doodle.
But yesterday he came home signing “God Bless America” and that one is really rubbing me the wrong way. I remember singing it in public school and I guess it didn’t mess me up too badly. But I really don’t like it. Plus my kid is autistic so it’s kind of hard to explain the nuance of it to him.
Should I just drop it? Should I tell the teacher we’re nonreligious? Should I just accept this is part of the culture and try to undo it at home?
But I also need to be careful on the other side because my younger ones have already had issues at school (like telling their preschool classmate that her recently deceased grandma wasn’t in heaven because heaven isn’t real).
How have you navigated this stuff in school?
So as atheist parents we still need to teach our kids about religion. It’s such a big part of the culture and of so many other people’s lives; plus you want to inoculate them against recruitment by a campus crusade for Christ or similar person and the best antidote to religion is a bit of inoculation.
God Bless America is a simple one - just tell him someone saying god bless is one way of saying good luck. Bless your heart is much more nuanced if that one comes up.
When my daughter was learning the pledge in school I had an open discussion about it with her. I also gave her the autonomy to decide if she wished to say it or not. I let her know she does not have to state it if she does not wish to. This was in Kindergarten. I will say This land is your land was made as a satire of God Bless America. lol
There's a great Springsteen version of this land that you could introduce.
Why am I only now realizing that the version of This Land is Your Land I was taught in school was a censored version with all the anti-fascist undertones removed.
Also even as a kid I stopped doing the pledge of allegiance independently from any conversation with my parents, it always felt like some cultish chanting trying to indoctrinate kids into being obedientl
yes it was, but in fairness the censored version was the one he mainly performed himself.
I feel like this largely depends what state you live in. I live in a blue state and would feel comfortable/respected if I spoke out against it. But living in a red state? Not sure if you will get anywhere for speaking out. Regardless, I would do it. God should not be mentioned in public schools.
I would let it go.
My kids were in a very liberal town when they were little and their music programs were always odd songs about the environment or some other theme. They never learned songs like Oh My Darlin Clementine or Yankee Doodle. I kind of wish they had learned the old folk songs in school, rather than the very forgettable songs they learned for school. I hope that they also teach This Land is Your Land at your kids school though.
I don't recall ever singing that in school, but we did have to say the pledge of allegiance every day and I always omitted under god when I said it.
I honestly think God Bless America is a banger song with a great history. It doesn't have to be literal.
Lawsuit.
It's a song it's not that deep bro, damn