Standing for something bigger

At a Republican rally last week, reporter Ari Shapiro tweeted, “As a reporter, I’m torn about joining in the Pledge of Allegiance/national anthem at rallies. I’m a rally observer, not a participant.”

He followed this thought with, “Yet most reporters around me stand for the anthem and pledge. I’m one of the few that didn’t. Setting myself up for accusations, I guess.”
His tweet was followed by a small, relatively polite debate in the Twittersphere, begging the question of whether it is appropriate for reporters to participate in the pledge and national anthem at rallies.

While on the political campaign trail, it is easy to get caught up in the partisanship of sides facing one another. The far more important element is the continuity of national identity. The few parts of each rally that focus almost exclusively on national pride should not be a source of consternation or deliberation.

It should be a singular opportunity for all participants in the rally — candidates, participants and reporters — to take the opportunity to remember what sparks this conversation in the first place.

For a member of the press to feel uncomfortable joining in the pledge is a failure in the system of government to create a difference between political ideologies and national identity.

Shapiro should not only feel comfortable standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. He should, in fact, be part of the impartial, non-biased attendees who lead such a reminder of the reason such rallies take place and the place they serve in our country’s existence.