Teen Protests After Pledge Recited In Foreign Languages [View All]

[Judi Lynn]

Teen Protests After Pledge Recited In Foreign Languages

UPDATED: 10:04 am EST March 10, 2005

MILLERSVILLE, Md. -- A ninth-grader is protesting the broadcasting of the Pledge of Allegiance in foreign languages as part of National Foreign Language Week.

"This is America, and we got soldiers at war," said 15-year-old Patrick Linton. "When you're saying the Pledge in a different language which nobody understands, that's not OK."

Linton said he and other students at Old Mill High School sat down rather than stand Wednesday when the pledge was read in Russian over the school's public address system. Linton's teacher told him if he had a problem, he should leave the room, Linton told The (Baltimore) Sun. He did, and he does not plan to return this week.

Charles Linton, Patrick's father, said the use of other languages is disrespectful to the country.

"It's like wearing a cross upside down in a church," said Charles Linton of Glen Burnie.
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http://www.nbc4i.com/education/4271505/detail.html