By JAVIER MANJARRES

When you see someone refusing to Pledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, how does that make you feel? Unfortunately, with traditional civics studies in schools  being thrown out the window, and American civil liberties being stomped on  by the Obama administration, expect to see more and more individuals refuse to acknowledge our nation’s symbol of freedom .

 A 15-year-old girl in Montgomery County, Maryland,  whose family is from the island of Puerto Rico, is crying foul because she feels that her fellow classmates and school teachers “chastised” her for refusing to “stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.”

 The high school sophomore says she has protested the U.S. policy on Puerto Rico since she was in seventh grade by “silently sitting during the daily Pledge of Allegiance.” The girl adds that doesn’t like the way the U.S. “treats Puerto Rico” and that she dislike that “a government so far [from the island] tells us what we can and cannot do.”

 It is unfortunate that the young girl is being indoctrinated to disrespect the very country that has afforded her, and her family the privilege to live and prosper in Maryland. Oh yeah, did we mention that the girl and her family don’t live in Puerto Rico?


 Here is a quick history lesson on the “Isla del Encanto,” Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has been a commonwealth of the United States since the early 1900’s, and the Puerto Rican people have been afforded the right to be U.S. citizens since the passing of the Jones Act in 1917.

 This said, the girl, her family, and the tens of thousands of U.S. Citizens that call themselves Puerto Rican, have all been able to access the government entitlement programs and benefits that non-U.S. citizens and residents are not privy to.

 Earlier this month, Rodriguez said she was asked to stand by a teacher and complied under duress before being called to the principal’s office to discuss the matter.

According to the Rodriguez, administrators dismissed her protest and, belittled her ethnic background.

The next day, the girl claimed, she was told to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, but she refused – and was confronted by a different teacher who took issue with her protest.-Fox News

 Enter the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU, in true ACLU form, declared that the girl’s civil liberties were violated, and that the end of the world was near.

 Then the Montgomery County Public Schools spokeswoman Dana Tofig chimed in on the matter, ranting the following nonsense-

 “Our regulations are very clear — students should not and cannot be compelled to participate in patriotic exercises, such as the Pledge of Allegiance,” Tofig wrote. “If a staff member does try to compel a student to participate or punishes a student for not participating, that is unacceptable.”

 The girl is understandably young an naive, and is without any doubt, being brainwashed by someone at home with extreme liberal and socialist leanings. Let me just say, if you are a legal immigrant, and not an U.S. citizen or resident, you shouldn’t be compelled to Pledge Allegiance. But,  these individuals who don’t feel comfortable  reciting the words, or even place their hands over their hearts,  should at the very least stand up during the recitation of the pledge.

But if you are a U.S. citizen or legal resident, and are benefiting in any way from your status, be grateful that you live in a country that gives you these privileges that most people around the world only wished they had.

 Repeat after me, 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.

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