Freedom of speech is freedom

Minot (N.D.) Daily News: Over the last few weeks, we have received several calls and visits from people upset that a 6-year-old boy in New Town refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance in class.

Some went as far as to say the Minot Daily News should have never told his story if we cared about our country.

Let’s make this very clear — we at the Minot Daily News love our country. We love what it stands for, we support the men and women who fight for it and we wish all Americans would stand proudly and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

But at the same time, we fervently support freedom of speech. Like many newspapers across the country, we have spent our lives working to ensure people can speak freely, even if we don’t agree with them.

Therefore, we support a child’s right to sit quietly while others recite the pledge. One of the strengths of the United States is we fight for the rights of the minority. At the Minot Daily News, we try to give a voice to those who don’t agree with the masses. By giving them a voice, we are not picking sides. We just believe those in the minority have an equal right to share their views.

Minority viewpoints

America’s greatness is not marked by majority rule. It is marked by those in the minority having the ability to share their viewpoints, even if it offends others. For whatever reason, a 6-year-old in New Town has decided he doesn’t want to say the pledge with his class. His older brother does say the pledge. We support both of them. By giving a voice to the child, we are not taking a side.