Stop Mandatory Recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in U.S. Public Schools

Students should not be forced to say the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools. The First Amendment recognizes every individual's rights to being able to say or not say something (unless it poses immediate harm to others). The Pledge is no different. Students should be told that they have a right to not say the Pledge, otherwise it is just blind propaganda. We are a country based on civil liberties, not on forced recitation. Maybe some minors do not feel comfortable reciting the Pledge, but do so because everyone else does it. Students are even scolded by teachers if they do not say it. There should be a federal law giving every student of a U.S. public school the right to say or not say the pledge of allegiance.