BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. — When Montana Elder heard the Pledge of Allegiance broadcast over the high school intercom during homeroom, she didn’t place her hand across her heart and recite it.
“I have never even stood for it, period,” said Elder, 18, a senior at Mt. Lebanon High School.
“It is not that I was protesting it — it is maybe even worse than that — it’s just that I was being lazy,” she said. She and her classmates check their cellphones or talk during the pledge.
But Elder has changed her mind. She attended a discussion organized by a local congressman Wednesday between students and military veterans, who together watched the new World War II movie “Hacksaw Ridge” in a private viewing.
“Tomorrow I will stand for the pledge in school. And the tomorrow after that, and every day. And every time I am somewhere where I am called to recite it, I will do the same thing,” she said.
Asked whether it displays courage to be the only one in a classroom who stands for the pledge, she added, “True bravery is what I saw displayed by Desmond Doss. He faced so much physical and mental adversity yet continued to stick to his core principles without flinching. The least I can do is stand for 40 seconds to honor our flag and those who fought to defend it.
“That is not bravery or courage, that is just the right thing to do.”
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"I never once stood for Pledge of Allegiance in school after seeing #HacksawRidge I will" https://t.co/usM805GsJt pic.twitter.com/b1hCwWdig7
— SalenaZito (@SalenaZito) November 5, 2016
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