Pledge in school, the right way to do things (Score 1)

I like America. Ok, sorry just had to get that increasingly unpopular idea out of the way. When I was attending my own personal institute of liberal education I recited the pledge on Friday's, the law in my state being that someone, anyone, must recite the pledge, over the intercom, once a week. Despite my participation in this I would like to point out that THIS SYSTEM IS LUDICROUS!!! A better idea would be to hold a referandum of the schools students to determine whether the pledge should be recited, at any time. The words "under God" must be removed for the pledge to attain any kind of constitutional legality, I suggest replacing them with the words "under a higher power" since that can be interpreted in a number of religious and non-religous ways Their is no question that it is a student, or anyone elses right, to recite the pledge of Allegiance, if they choose to. It is conversly the right of anyone else to refuse to do so. I recite the pledge not out of Allegiance to the American goverment, but out of loyalty to the dream that is America. I could just as easily be saying "I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The flag just happens to be a handy symbol. I would also like to point out that those laws which "require the pledge to be recited" do not require participation, plenty of people talked and read during our pledge in those far-off days, I bet they do the same thing today... Just something to think about...