KIMT NEWS 3 – It’s a story that’s getting national attention, including from the president.
The city council in St. Louis Park, Minn. voted 5-0 last month to drop the Pledge of Allegiance from their meetings, in an effort to be more inclusive to new residents and non-citizens.
President Trump took to Twitter, writing: “Outrage is growing in the great state of Minnesota where our patriots are now having to fight for the right to say the Pledge of Allegiance. I will be fighting with you!”
St. Louis Park is about 90 miles from Rochester. However, in the land of the free and home of the brave, it’s a story many people have strong opinions about.
The Pledge of Allegiance reads: “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.”
They’re words intended to remind us of who we are and committed to memory for generations.
“It's something that we used to do in school like every morning before first period started,” Larisa Garcia, of Rochester, said, “whether it was elementary, middle school.”
You might take them for granted unless you weren’t permitted to say them anymore.
“I don't know why it would be removed,” Scott Ramey, of Faribault, said. “It'd be like cutting our flag poles down.”
Uproar at Monday night’s city council meeting in St. Louis Park caused the council to rethink.
The debate has ignited passions, with many willing to weigh in.
“This is the United States of America,” Kay Goodstadt, of Margate City, New Jersey, said. “We do have individual freedoms in this country. And we also have pride in our country, or we should, or we would like to still.”
The city council in St. Louis Park has not taken a vote yet. There are two proposals on the table: reverse the decision or continue the discussion with input from the community.
In our area – Rochester, Austin, and Albert Lea city councils do say the Pledge of Allegiance at their meetings. However, Mason City does not.
