Yeah it’s a weird fucking ritual isn’t it? It made a couple of my teachers mad in highschool that I refused to stand and pledge. It sounds edgy, but it’s such a weird brainwashy thing to do that
It wasn't always like that, either. The "under god" part was added by Eisenhower in the 50s during the red scare. He added the "In God We Trust" thing to the money around the same time.
"Sit out int the hall with the others"... eh, who are the others that gets sent to the hallway during the pledge? The pledge is fucked up in it self, so are some people sent to the hallway like "well, if you want to be a traitor you have to leave"?
The other JWs. Or anyone with a religious exemption. I'm surprised they allowed it in such a rural religious school. Probably just because some of those other kids were well off for the area.
I did the same thing except I wasn't lying. Ironically that cult is even nuttier than the cult of the flag. It was like I dodged a bullet by getting blown apart by artillery before it could hit me.