Do you stand for the Pledge of Allegiance/National Anthem?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Well?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

National anthem yes, Pledge of Allegiance no in the like two or three times in my life it's been said in my presence (none of my schools required it).

[Tender Branson]

No (normal).

Why would I do that ?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I don't often go to sporting events, but sure, why not? I view it very much as I view religious events in that, regardless of my (stupid) beliefs, if I'm in someone's house, I play by their rules. Not standing for it makes you either (A) lazy, or (B) insubordinate, and those are two qualities America does not need. In Church, I kneel and do the sign of the Cross while entering and exiting the pews regardless of whether regular attendees think they don't need to.

[dead0man]

Generally yes, when appropriate. (normal 'murican that likes 'murica)

[politicallefty]

In high school, they did the Pledge, but no one stood. In my high school, the Pledge was never done until after 9/11. Like I said, no one stood, including myself. It was 7:30 in the morning and no one really cared. It's not that none of us loved this country. None of us felt compelled to do a meaningless gesture when we're barely awake.

As for the national anthem, I've always stood, even at sporting events, but it takes a special occasion for me to put my hand on my chest. Personally, I feel the national anthem loses its meaning when it's played constantly at every sporting event possible. I think it loses meaning when it is so commonplace like that. Save it for actual patriotic and sacred moments. I don't think the average sporting event deserves the national anthem (winning the gold at the Olympics is of course an exception). Save it for holidays and days of remembrance, save it for those that served our country, and save it for days of celebration. Putting your hand on your chest more often than someone else does not make you more patriotic.

[Santander]

Yes (don't hate America)

[SWE]

Yes, as nonsensical as patriotism is, it's never been something I saw as worth spilling blood over.

[LLR]

I mean, the only time I regularly hear either of these things is at baseball games, so of course I do.

[IceAgeComing]

I'll ignore the pledge of allegiance thing since that's quick frankly a really creepy thing that seems like its from some awful dictatorship rather than a liberal democracy, and there's no version of that here.

Here the national anthem thing is a bit complicated because of the whole Scotland being independent in some sports while being in a collective GB team in others thing, which means that sometimes you get Flower of Scotland and other times you get God Save the Queen and its only really ever played before games between two international teams (I don't get quite why you need to play it before every sports event) so you don't often get it.  If I was at an international Football match or something then I'd sing along to Flower of Scotland very loud and tunelessly, which really is the only way to deal with that song.  God Save the Queen really depends on the context on which it is being played since its used to represent England in sports where the UK home nations are split up: where its representing the UK as a whole then generally its respected as your national anthem although I personally wouldn't sing (Republican), while when its representing England then it kinda depends on what crowd you have, a Rugby crowd will generally respect it in the way that you would see a country respect the national anthem of another, while the last time they played a Scotland-England football game in Scotland the thing was barely audible on the TV over the booing that the thing got, partially because it was the first England/Scotland game in Scotland for 15 years.  I think that you'd see more people see it as a UK anthem if England had its own separate national song; the Cricket team use Jerusalem and I think that it works, I think they also use it at the Commonwealth Games now so its becoming the consensus alternative.  It probably sounds a bit odd to non-Scots, but I think that its an arrangement that makes sense when you have conflicting national identities in the same place.

[RFayette]

Yes

[DavidB.]

I most definitely stand for national anthems. I basically only hear the Dutch anthem when the football team plays and on Remembrance Day, though. The Israeli anthem I also don't hear too often.

I'm not an American so the Pledge is not for me, but I wouldn't have any problem with standing up for it if I were (but there may be halachic issues with saying "under G-d" in a secular context; would have to look into it to see whether I'd say that).

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I didn't stand for the pledge my last two years of high school. I stand for the national anthem at sporting events, but I typically just think to myself "let's get this over with." I'm not a huge fan of patriotism.

[Hash]

We stood for the (PA system recording of the) Canadian anthem every morning back in high school, and nobody really minded (to the contrary). Since then, I've stood for O Canada at sport events or other events (Canada Day etc.).

I've also stood for the Colombian and Mexican anthems at university/school events there (and, by that stretch, also the departmental anthem of Caldas and and the state anthem of Quintana Roo), and I stood and saluted (Roman and Zogist salute :S) for the Mexican juramento a la bandera, which is even creepier than the US Pledge.

[SATW]

Yes

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Yes, how is this controversial...my problem with people has always been those that did not say the pledge.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Never had to (foreigner). I don't think I would mind standing and reciting it in a context where it's expected. I would only stay conspicuously silent during the "under God" bit.

Having children recite it is definitely a bit creepy though.

[DavidB.]

Having children recite it is definitely a bit creepy though.

Why? You have to teach it early on, so that they are going to love their country!

[Antonio the Sixth]

Having children recite it is definitely a bit creepy though.

Why? You have to teach it early on, so that they are going to love their country!

Young children cannot be expected to understand the pledge and what it represents, so for them it's just regurgitating meaningless words because an adult told them to. This is not teaching love for one's country, it's mindless brainwashing. Children should first be taught civics (and I wish there were more civics classes), and then, after they have learned what the flag stand for, they should be encouraged (though not compelled) to pledge allegiance to it.

[Joe Republic]

Having children recite it is definitely a bit creepy though.

Why? You have to teach it early on, so that they are going to love their country!

... I can't quite tell if that was intended to be a serious argument.

[DavidB.]

Young children cannot be expected to understand the pledge and what it represents, so for them it's just regurgitating meaningless words because an adult told them to. This is not teaching love for one's country, it's mindless brainwashing.

It's both, obviously.

... I can't quite tell if that was intended to be a serious argument.

Completely serious.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Young children cannot be expected to understand the pledge and what it represents, so for them it's just regurgitating meaningless words because an adult told them to. This is not teaching love for one's country, it's mindless brainwashing.

It's both, obviously.

No it's not. You can't brainwash someone into love. You can only brainwash them into submission, which is not love.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Yes.

For the pledge though, in high school I started not saying the beginning about "pledging allegiance to the flag" since it struck me as a bit idolatrous. I joined in at "the Republic to which it stands.." as a statement about what America ought to represent.  I have a bit more appreciation of the meaning of the flag as a symbol as I used to (I no longer would say it just a piece of cloth) but still pledging one's allegiance to it, or even to the nation, strikes me as in most cases a misplacement of priorities.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Yes

[Mr. Smith]

Yes, as nonsensical as patriotism is, it's never been something I saw as worth spilling blood over.