My niece's 5th-grade graduation [View All]

I went to my niece's fifth-grade graduation and awards ceremony this morning. The children were moving on to middle school from that grade.

It was a great time, overall. The kids were excited about it being the last day of school, and most of them were given an academic or other kind of award. The teachers were obviously very emotional and cared about the kids quite a bit. It was a very nice ceremony, pretty typical of a 5th-grade graduation until the end.

The kids were to sing a song to end the ceremony. They had obviously been practicing, because they all knew the words, more or less.

I was pretty surprised when the teachers started up the song "Proud to be an American" for this final graduation gesture. Some of the parents suddenly got very excited and began singing along themselves, some standing up. Many of the kids seemed happy singing it, as well.

But, I gotta say- this was a 5th-grade graduation. What does being an American, or having pride in being an American, for that matter, have to do with the education of 12-year-olds or their pride in achievement?

Why is it that some people, the second they encounter a point of celebration, immediately turn to patriotism and pride in their country? It seems to me that this was a time for the children (and the children's parents) to be proud of THEMSELVES, not of their national origin. I don't have a problem at all with patriotic songs where they're appropriate- the 4th of July or other times where we're celebrating our country's history. I can even handle it at sports events, although that placement seems weird. I'm a patriotic American.

But a 5th-grade graduation? Come on. It was tacky as hell and showed a total lack of creativity. It was also forced and misplaced sentimentality. To all of the freepers out there, you need to learn something: There is a TIME and a PLACE for patriotism. It is not a fallback sentiment for when you don't know how to feel about things. Pride in one's country is great, but show it when it's appropriate. Not everything is, and certainly most things are not, related to national pride.

Those 5th-graders could have sung any of one of hundreds of songs. They could have even sung something silly, and it would have been appropriate. But, sadly, they had to sing a song about Americans dying for freedom. For their graduation to middle school.

So I was disappointed. Sorry, but I felt the need to post on this.