hungryhorace

I just remain seated. I'm not an American, so why should I be forced to stand for something I don't have an allegiance to, and consider (frankly) to be dangerous brain washing.

Pulaski

I wondered when you would show up.

rebs

It strikes me as decidedly unBritish to draw attention to oneself by doing anything other than standing respectfully

robin1234

I've lived here for twenty three years, and I don't think I've ever been in a situation where the Pledge of Allegiance has been recited. Plenty of hockey games, so loads of US and Canadian national anthems, but no pledge..

hungryhorace

I only regard myself as half British though.

hungryhorace

Boom. haha

Pulaski

Ah! As many of us suspected you are half something else! ..... A few may have wondered if you are entirely something else.

Guindalf

The point is don't be an arse. Nobody HAS to recite the pledge, just like any non-American HAS to stand or remove hi or her hat for the national anthem. However, it's a sign of respect for others that, even if you don't participate, you stand and take off your backwards baseball cap (or, in someone's case, remove the protective headgear that the doctors make you wear! )

rpjs

Indeed.

Our house came with a flag pole, which pleases me as I've always been interested in flags and their history and I was always a bit sad that it's just not "done" to fly flags in the UK, unless you're from certain parts of Northern Ireland or have a rather right-wing tinge to your politics.

I fly the flag of England on St George's Day (for me), the Irish tricolour (for my wife's Irish heritage) on St Patrick's Day, the Welsh dragon (for the country that brought us together) on St David's Day and the European stars on Europe Day to annoy Nigel Farage and all his kind.

The rest of the time I fly the Stars and Stripes, not because the missus is American - she couldn't give a ****[1] - but because it's the country we live in and it's respectful to fly the national flag (and I've always quite liked it as a design).

[1] Except that during the World Cup I also flew the Cross of St George on days England were playing, and OH made it very clear that would not be allowed if England played on the 4th of July. Of course, we never made it that far...

hungryhorace

I just don't subscribe to that. Sorry. The US flag represents (for me) the government of the US. I refuse to lend my support to their foreign policy activities by flying a flag that I believe is used to commit war crimes.

Ironically, the Founding Fathers would have been labelled as 'terrorists' in today's modern world.

Michael

In my mind, it would be similar a black in the segregated south prior to the 1960s or a 1970s anti war protester writing a patriotic verse that appeared to support the status quo. I'm not sure what his intention was but that appears to be what they verse does.

hungryhorace

..and the national anthem is a song about killing the British. No thanks. Not in my name.

Michael

And god save the queen is about the dictatorial powers of the monarchy.

Pulaski

You realise that the War of Independence is over, don't you? You sound like one of those Japanese soldiers who stumbled out of the jungle decades after WWII ended thinking it was still going on.

hungryhorace

No, it's not.