These ceremonies have much more impact if they come to us from the distant past, like our marriage or religious rituals, and not have to be legislated into existence or sustained by group coercion. I have no problem with the Pledge itself, I agree with every part but the God nonsense, but I do have problems with what happens when you don't follow the crowd, particularly in a schoolyard environment where kids are constantly looking for someone who's different so they can pick on him. Ceremonies for kids like this designed to instill abstract and subtle concepts seem to me to substitute meaningless ritual for the concept they are meant to symbolize. That is not, in my opinion, the way to teach ideas like service to country. It's not that concept I object to, it's the use of operant conditioning to instill it.

As for things like multiple marriage ceremonies (a fairly recent development as far as I can tell) I do not object if all the participants are enthusiastic about it. But what happens when sanctions start being applied if you decide not to go along with it? This may seem like civil libertarian nitpicking to some, but if you need convincing, next time you are at a ball game, fail to sing the anthem with the others, stay seated and read the program. You will be noticed, and you will probably be sanctioned.

Kids are smarter than we give them credit for, and they are perfectly aware when someone is trying to indoctrinate them, even if it is for a noble cause. As for multiple marriage ceremonies actually strengthening a marriage, I really doubt it. Even if it were true, how would you go about proving it? Which is the cause and which is the effect? If divorces are more frequent in single-ceremony marriages than in multiple wedding relationships, how do we establish cause and effect? If one partner changes his or her mind about a marriage, another ceremony is not going to change it back. And acquiescing to another wedding does not necessarily imply anything except a wish to avoid a domestic argument on the part of one partner.

In my opinionl, any ceremonial act, regardless of its nature or value, becomes diluted by repetition. My subliminal instinct is "If this is so self-evidently wonderful, why do I have to do it over and over."