You can't pound someone into patriotism. Mariner students already do not have to recite the pledge but many of them engage in the daily ritual to avoid making trouble. In addition, many teachers do not tell students that they have a right to sit during the pledge due a the 1943 Supreme Court decision . We set up government by consent of the governed, and the Bill of Rights denies those in power any legal opportunity to coerce that consent. Authority here is to be controlled by public opinion, not public opinion by authority.
Veteran organizations are often the lobbyists who persuade school boards to embrace a daily pledge.
Presumably, since a raised flag is the symbol of a victorious battle, the veterans would like students to commemorate the efforts of American soldiers. Ironically, these veteran groups are ridiculing the efforts of deceased American soldiers who fought to preserve the Constitutional freedoms of the United States. Many deceased soldiers would be shocked to see the American government force its citizens to recite a pledge, much like Hitler forced German citizens to salute him with a raised hand. They would be equally shocked to find that government teachers routinely neglect to tell students their rights. Most students do not know they do not have to recite the pledge.