A group display of patriotism and national allegiance? At a private commercial/organizational meeting that has nothing to do with state matters? It seems fascistic to me, not childish.
Ummm, I’m an american, and I do give at least 2 fucks about what other countries do. Or, is that a true scotsman test?
And no part of that has anything to do with the pledge. If they also required that everyone do the hokey pokey before the meeting started, is that something that you just need to do to avoid pissing off the guy that takes it way too seriously?
“Go along to get along.” Words that tyrants love to hear.
And it does make those of us who are from such countries stand out and need to show passport to people who get up in our face about “not respecting our country!!!” Uh, it’s not my country and in mine the only people who do anything remotely resembling pledging loyalty to its institutions are soldiers when they finish Basic and politicians when they take their posts…
You sure give a shit about what people from other countries do when faced with the need to either lie in an oath (then again, a lot of Americans apparently reckon that oaths don’t matter) or be assaulted by some asshole who can’t conceive of a white-looking person not being American.
I’m now picturing how you respond to, say, employment contracts. “Sorry, I can’t promise to come into work; I only make promises to god.”
As for the subject, I’d refuse to come to any meeting that started with a fascistic display like that.
I used to work at a state government agency, where required semi-annual meetings always began with the pledge and sometimes with an invocation.
I didn’t bother staring at the floor during the prayer. Just looked around the room with my hands behind my back.
As for the pledge, the last few years I was there my office was just down the hall from the conference room. I learned to be soooo busy and sneak in the back 5 minutes late to avoid it.
No chairs available by that time so I had to stand the whole time, but eh.
Stuff like reciting the Pledge or even just singing the national anthem (with the possible exception of World Cup games) freaks me out. Just feels squicky.
I think it might tell us something about the propriety of such an act, if no other country in the world (except perhaps North Korea) requires a pledge of loyalty at things like Condo Association meetings. How would you feel if you had to pledge your love of country before you could get your drivers license renewed or order dinner at the local diner?
It this is truly “uniquely American,” I’d sure like to understand why “we” (and only we) think it’s a god thing to do. I sure don’t.
I care a heck of a lot more about whether we have to recite a loyalty pledge than I care about cigarette butts in the entrance way.
I don’t understand why anyone would ***want ***this to be part of a ritual at a meeting or in a school. Other than “tradition,” do you have any insight?
I think it’s unnecessary to recite the pledge for this type of meeting unless the condo association is also the civic organization (city, county, state, or nationally organized).
Someone above mentioned prayer at opening, I can certainly see that if the condo assoc. is religious in origin, as some are. Otherwise, no.
It’s silly and unnecessary, but I don’t think I’d make a stink about it. I certainly wouldn’t make a big show of refusing to recite the pledge; I would just quietly not participate. Everyone else can do what they want to do.
I could be wrong about this, but I think it’s a response to godless communism and, more specifically, the fact that Joseph McCarthy created an environment of paranoia where being perceived as unamerican could literally destroy your life and career.
Between ingrained habit and periodic resurgences of similar paranoia, we never got out of the habit of announcing, “No, I’m not russian, really!”
I have found that it doesn’t work like that. The biblical quote that explains what our work is and how we are provided for is in the biblical quote below, the bold is the short summary.
I have found that our work and employment is not these contracts, but the work God wants us to do, and in that God provides for our needs. I’ve lived that. In your example many times I was exempt from such things without even asking or mentioning a objection. So it’s nothing that has come up. In other cases there were days I was lead to go hiking during a work day (because of the people I would meet and interact with, sometimes a important work day. I would ask for the day off and give my reason, I’m going hiking, and that’s all they needed to hear. They wished me a good hike and no mention of missing a critical day was brought up.
