To the Editor:

I wanted to share what my husband, Robert Hawley, wrote on Facebook early this morning:

"Last night, my wife, daughter, and I attended the Newtown Republican Caucus. We wanted to support Will Rodgers for first selectman. We thought it would be a great opportunity to show our near 6-year-old daughter how the political process works. As the proceedings came to order, and the chairman began the meeting, I felt something was missing. This was my first political meeting and was unsure of the agenda. The chair explained that the rules committee would meet for approximately ten minutes and then the meeting would continue. Motions, seconds, votes began to take place, and still there was something missing. Speeches by the nominees, and their supporters followed and still something was missing. It finally hit me as I looked at the dais and the American flag behind it. We didn't say the Pledge of Allegiance.

"I grew up during a time we said the Pledge before school, every day, not just on special occasions or ceremonies. I wanted to somehow obtain the floor, as Robert's Rules of Order state, and make a motion to say the Pledge before proceeding with the meeting. I know some of Robert's Rules, but not enough to be sure that it would have been received. As the vote for first selectman was being conducted, I engaged the chairman and asked, 'When did it become okay to stop saying the Pledge of Allegiance before events like this?' His response was along the lines of 'We forgot.' I asked, 'Is there a way to correct that?'  His response: 'It's kinda late for that.' To which I said, looking at him straight in the eye, 'It's never too late for the Pledge.' I thanked him for his time and proceeded to place my ballot in the box to be counted. So as I write this in the predawn hours, please take a moment and repeat after me -

"'I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'"

Tiffany Hawley

27 Swamp Road, Newtown         July 25, 2017