Sign of the Times

     

    Anyone who lives in Maryland knows how horrific traffic can get around the DMV. We have some of the nation's most aggressive and ignorant drivers, and rush hour on some of our major highways can often cause traffic delays that last for several hours. 

    Interstate 95 (I-95) is one such highway that I travel nearly everyday. A major north-south interstate highway on the East Coast, it runs as far north as Maine and as far south as Miami, Florida. I'd argue however, that the stretch of 95 that runs through Central Maryland is the worst, most congested stretch of this highway. 

    There are four lanes running north, parallel to four lanes running south, and during rush hour, or God forbid if there is an accident, these four lanes feel like one narrow lane that every car and tractor-trailer is trying to squeeze through. Surely there's nothing that could possibly make rush hour on I-95 in Maryland worse, right? 

    Wrong. Lately a small collection of attention seekers have taken it upon themselves to make signs and advertise their views along some of the roads that pass over I-95. Gorman Road is one such overpass, where these "protesters" gather to show off their handiwork. As this stretch of the highway is approaching 495 and ultimately Washington D.C., it is viewed by these individuals as an ideal location for political messages.

    These poster boards started off with messages such as, "Federal Workers- You're in Our Prayers" and have since gotten more political with signs reading, "Defend Democracy" and "Fire Elon!" I'll admit that I have no issue with any of these aforementioned statements and I'm always in favor of upholding the 1st amendment. That said, there's a time and a place and the time is not during rush hour and the place is certainly not overlooking this stretch of 95.

    Traffic has been backing up lately at these spots, as drivers slow down to gawk at the spectacle overhead, or even worse to take pictures or videos with their cellphones while driving. These poster board patriots are doing nothing but making an already bad traffic situation even worse. They're up there dancing and blowing bubbles, reveling in the attention they perceive themselves to be receiving. Have these people never heard of social media? 

I know that these individuals are making traffic worse because the lanes open wide up as soon as I clear the Gorman Road overpass. Recent signs have read, "No King" and "Hug a Canadian." Well I have a message of my own; "Thanks for the traffic!" I've yelled lately as I pass underneath the attention seekers. There are more productive and safer ways to get your message out there. Please leave I-95 to the motorists and keep your political agenda off of our public highways!

The Superfluous Pledge

 "I pledge allegiance to the flag

of the United States of America

and to the Republic for which it stands

one nation under God,

indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all."

        These words are undoubtedly etched into the minds of anyone who has passed through the American public education system since the early 20th century. We know the pledge by heart, but why? What are the origins of the pledge? How did it become so ubiquitous in American schools, and why must the pledge be renewed every morning at the start of each new school day?

    Francis Bellamy (1855 - 1931), author of the Pledge of Allegiance, was a Baptist minister who eventually lost his place at the pulpit for his outspoken socialist views. His career as a preacher was cut short due to his advocacy for Christian Socialism and his insistence that Jesus was a socialist. He then went on to join the staff of The Youth's Companion magazine out of Boston, a weekly publication that promoted civic values to the youth of America.

    It was in one such issue of The Youth's Companion in 1892 that Bellamy published the Pledge in its original form to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus "discovering" the new world:

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag 

and the Republic for which it stands, 

one nation,

 indivisible, 

with liberty and justice for all."

    Noticeably absent from Bellamy's original Pledge is the phrase "under God," which was added in 1954 via legislation by President Eisenhower amidst McCarthyism and the Second Red Scare. Bellamy, a self-proclaimed socialist, strongly supported the absolute separation of church and state and was no doubt turning over in his grave when these two words were added to the Pledge. 

    As a high school English teacher and substitute teacher I have heard the Pledge recited over classroom PA speakers more times than I can count. In nine years of teaching in Maryland public schools, I'd conservatively estimate that four total students out of thousands actually stood for the Pledge. Most students could not care less about the Pledge, and why should they? 

    Christopher Columbus enslaved the natives upon arriving in the new land and his reputation has been sullied over the past few decades to the point where many communities now celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day rather than Columbus Day. So why continue to recite a pledge that has original ties to Columbus, has been altered to contradict the ideals of its author, and is so ineffectual that it must be recited over and over again, morning after morning? Public education is mired in tradition and the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance is clearly just another example of tradition for tradition's sake.