The Pledge

“Your father will be back for dinner this evening,” Mrs. Blaine replied matter-of-factly. “He has a deacon’s meeting this afternoon.” Paul looked at his mother but didn’t say anything. “You two really went at it this morning,” she continued. “I think you both needed this time to cool off.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Paul remarked. “He wants me to be something I’m not.”
“Well maybe if you get your hair cut and get rid of the beads and sandals, at least while you’re here this summer…”
“He said I looked like a girl,” Paul cut in. “He’s actually taking it upon himself now to judge whether my appearance is sufficiently masculine. Of course, I’ve been hoping that you would get involved and break the news to him that I’m gay, but…”
“You’re gay?” Mrs. Blaine brought her hand to her throat.
“Just kidding, mom,” Paul laughed. “Actually, the girls I know at school like my hair this way.”
“Don’t even joke about something like that, please. Your father’s touchy enough about the way young people dress these days. I blame the war, myself. I think kids dress the way they do to protest against what’s happening in Vietnam.” She paused and sighed. “I guess we remember when you were in high school and had short hair and played on the football team.”
“I know, but that was a different time. I was more trusting then. I followed the rules. I was a good boy. Now I’m older, and I want to figure things out for myself. And the harder I look at the people in positions of authority, the ones who actually make the rules that people like me are supposed to follow, the more convinced I am they don’t have a clue. They want to replace having an open mind with the power to control other people. Take dad, for example. When it comes to morality, he’s not open to anything. He insists that everything is cut and dried; no drinking, no gambling, no profanity, no rock music, nothing risqué.”
“Those things can hurt you,” Mrs. Blaine countered. “He’s just trying to…”
“Some of those things can hurt you if you don’t exercise proper judgment,” Paul replied. “A lot of things are like that. But what he wants to do is create a list of rules that he can judge my behavior against. With him, it’s more about control than anything else. Sometimes I wonder if he gets some kind of high from trying to control other people. And he’s not alone. The whole establishment is about control. They like to think they know what’s best for everyone else no matter how much they screw up themselves. And they get away with it. They control guys my age by drafting them into the Army, and they’re controlling the people of South Vietnam through military conquest.”
“Your dad thinks that college you’re going to is the problem. He thinks they’ve put a lot of strange ideas into your head.”
“You didn’t tell him about the pledge, did you?”
“What pledge?”
“The pledge we have to sign after being enrolled there for two years.”
“I don’t remember anything about a pledge.”
“To continue on and graduate, we have to pledge that we renounce any previously held religious beliefs as well as our U.S. citizenship.”
“Very funny. But your dad is serious. He said he won’t pay for your tuition next year if you don’t get your hair cut before you go back.”
“Well, he may have a point there.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I think the time has come for me to be on my own. Next week I’ll check into getting a student loan and start looking for a part-time job on campus.”
“Just because you don’t want to get your hair cut?”
“No, because I can’t continue being a dependent on the one hand and complain about control on the other.”