Indoctrination

In The Republic, the idea of indoctrination is mentioned, as Socrates wanted all people to have the same education. This would have to start at the age of a child. That's where the Pledge of Allegiance comes in: we all learn the pledge when we're in preschool, right? And we learn it, usually without knowing what we're even saying. But that's indoctrination -- it's just kind of...set into our minds at a young age, and it becomes natural and automatic. We're building allegiance to the country, and when we're young, we're pretty much unaware of it. We remember it by heart, and then recite it almost everyday of the school year. The pledge is important, however. Without it, we'd be missing one thing: unity.