It’s so wild to me that the US still has this fascist ahh ritual. Nobody told them that the godless Soviet Union fell already?
It’s ok the pledge was written by a communist, but a home grown American communist
What no this is more of a “American communism is a longstanding tradition and it’s foolishness to brush us off as purely a capitalistic nation.”
It’s so creepy that we still do this
Lol, the US seems tame by comparison.
I remember in China in like first or second grade, we had a whole ceremony in the school yard where they put on the little red scarf thingy on the kids (Google it: “China Little Red Scarf” and see what I meant; edit: I google it and found this wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Pioneers_of_China), after singing the natioal anthem and watching the kids do the the whole flag raising ritual. Idk what the f was even happening at the time, but restrospectively, that felt like joining the Jonestown Cult.
(While that “little red scarf” ceremony was a one time thing, the flag raising ceremony was more frequent. I don’t remember exact how frequent, but I’m gonna guess like maybe every monday. Cuz I remember sneaking out before they had us go to the school yard, and I just kinda just chill at some “vantage point” where I can see the kids in the school yard, while I just chilled, outside of the sun. I mean, I probably just didn’t feel like being in the school yard and being in the sun, cuz its feels like being cooked alive in the heat.)
That uh, does seem more tame than the US.
The pledge was every single morning, in my experience AFTER the national anthem and a moment of silence. We had to stand for the whole thing. (And in Texas, also have to do a Texas pledge)
Then if course we had our insanely biased teaching of history, minimizing our genocide and slavery. Forcing us to learn about important founders to a degree that they become sort of semi-god figures.
That’s very strange. In the schools I’ve been to it was just the pledge, and you don’t have to stand. They aren’t legally allowed to force you to stand or say it, but some schools do anyway.
That’s part of the problem of states handling everything so differently. In New York, I had the pledge every morning, that’s pretty much national, but nothing else almost ever outside of sports (national anthem). Not only did they know you didn’t have to stand, they taught us that in history class.
How can you come together “as a nation” when your education from state to state can be completely different.
If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.
[…]
Those who begin coercive elimination of dissent soon find themselves exterminating dissenters. Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the unanimity of the graveyard.
Justice Robert H. Jackson, West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
While it’s true that this ritual is commonly practiced in the US, it is also true that everyone has the protected right to not participate, which has been upheld in court (Frazier v. Alexandre).
Personally, I feel that choosing to exercise your civil rights is a highly patriotic act.
I’d say you guys value patriotism too much. Typical of an empire too.
Btw, it’s what gave rise to the Nazis (among other factors).
One of my favorite truisms: One thing the flag stands for is you don’t have to stand for the flag.
Most people are actually pretty stupid when you think about it. Myself included.
I was 8 when I moved to the US. It was bizarre. Obviously, as an outsider, I felt I had to fit in. I never questioned it. I didn’t understand it. I just said the words.
I guess at some point you understand the words (I left the US before then), but by that point it’s probably become a habit. It’s still the thing that everyone else in the class does. And you still want to fit in.
Never mind understanding the politics of the US that you have the right to not do something that is habitual and seems completely normal.
Right except most kids and teachers don’t know about that so the kid still gets forced to do it
That we make children say this shit reveals how demented we are.