I live in the suburbs of Chicago
and not too far from where I live, there is a city called Morton Grove.
And there's a Park District there and it's run by a young Commissioner named Dan Ashta.
And if you ever attended a board meeting
for the Park District,
you would know that there is a Pledge of Allegiance. It's part of the agenda for all their meetings.
And Commissioner Ashta doesn't stand for the pledge,
and he has reasons for this.
One of his reasons is he argues that
putting the pledge in the agenda
makes it sound like you support everything the country does.
And there may be people who disagree with some of the actions our country takes.
For example, like dropping drone missiles on other countries.
There are people who disagree with a lot of our country does. Maybe they don't want to say the Pledge.
So they have to be the outcast and sit down.
There may also be a lot of atheists out there who don't wanna pledge allegiance to a nation "under God"
and, again, if they sit down there, kind of
the outcast there. So he doesn't want them to feel
like they're the odd ones out, so he doesn't stand either.
And you would think this is a non-issue. Okay, he doesn't want to stand for the pledge,
that's the end of it. He's not putting up a fight even saying that
we should get rid of the pledge.
He says it's fine, you can say the Pledge but
I don't wanna say it and I don't want to stand for it.
So, you would think that's the end of the story.
Well, it turns out
there's a group called the American Legion, which is kind of this service organization for our veterans.
Sounds like a great group.
And they actually give a couple thousand dollars every year to the Morton Grove Park District
for things like a Halloween...
event, a Halloween event,
4th of July fireworks. They give like $2600 to the Morton Grove Park District.
Well, one of the commanders, Joseph Lambert,
of this local American Legion's group,
he heard about how Ashta isn't standing for the pledge.
So, he went to one of their board meetings recently and he said:
"You know what? I've--
We're all veterans,
we all fought for the First Amendment; we fought for the Constitution; we fought for your right to--
Your freedom to believe, or not to believe.
And you are exercising that right, not to believe.
And we support your right.
But we don't have to give you money if you're going to do that.
So, from now on, we're not going to give the Park District any money anymore.
Unless that guy stands for the pledge, we're not going to give you any money.
So, if you're in Ashta's position, what do you do? He basically said like,
you know,
that's kind of crazy to hear, but
Ashta said, you know, "I'm still not going to stand up. I don't think it's right to stand up".
And in my head I'm hearing all this and I'm thinking,
How could veterans fight for the Constitution
and then be upset with someone who exercises his right,
not to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. It's not disrespectful what he's doing.
It's not unpatriotic what Ashta is doing. He is an American, he is a citizen.
He just disagrees with saying the pledge.
And the American Legion's like,
"Well, fine, but we're not gonna help the citizens of this community if you're not gonna follow our
traditions",
which is ridiculous.
So, anyway,
I heard that story. I decided that--
I think a lot of you watching may be interested in helping out the Morton Grove Park District.
So, there is a link below.
I started a fundraiser to see if we can raise the $2600
for the Morton Grove Park District,
since the American Legion isn't doing it.
I don't think just in-- I don't think Dan Ashta should be punished
just because
he's taking a stance, that I think a lot of us would take,
in not standing for the pledge.
So let's show 'em that he shouldn't feel bad about it. It's not his fault
that the Park District is out $2600.
And if you're interested in pitching in a couple bucks,
the fundraiser is below.
As soon as I have proof--
As soon as the money is sent to the Park District, I will
give proof to all of you watching here.
I'll put it up on my site as well.
So, I hope you're interested. I pitched in a little bit, too.
And I hope we can show
Ashta and the whole Park District Board of Directors that,
you know what? If this group isn't going to give you the money because they don't like a stance that a lot of atheists would take,
You shouldn't be punished for it and we got your back.
And I think that's a fair thing for us to do, and I think it would be a really nice thing for us to do. So, I hope you'll join me in this.
My name is Hemant Mehta and I write at FriendlyAtheist.com
Please, leave your questions and thoughts below in the comments.