As an American who has lived his entire life (almost 74 years) in the U.S., I agree.
I’m the ring announcer for the local pro wrestling promotion. We always begin our shows with the national anthem (in our case, “O Canada”), because we are, after all, an athletic contest, like hockey, baseball, or football.
I’ve had a few fans tell me that I need to remind all fans to remove their hats and put their hands over their hearts during the national anthem. I tell them that section 2(b) of our Charter means that they don’t have to, that they can keep their hats on if they wish, and that “hands over their hearts” is an American thing, and that if they are proud Canadians, they would do no such thing. They would simply stand at attention. Most see our Constitution’s reasoning, and act as they see fit. Regardless, if some fans wish to do the American thing, as they are allowed to under our Constitution, I’m not going to comment.
Displaying your patriotism in Canada is a lot different from displaying your patriotism in the US.
Tai chi.
When I was in Tokyo I saw the local supermarket staff doing their morning tai chi each morning. Tai chi is kind of slow anyway, but these guys did it in slow motion.
Ahem.
Randy Newman.
Every time a person enters the condo, have the security guard at the condo’s foyer make them perform the pledge of allegiance.
I live in a twin-tower kind of building - two high rises that share a common entrance hall+ miserable token garden. Both are residential towers, but the one I don’t live in is basically leased in its entirety by the Chinese embassy to house their low-to-mid level personnel and their families.
It will never cease to both puzzle and amuse me to come down in the evening to see 4 or 5 little old ladies powerwalking together in a circle in the entry hall to the rythm of a ghetto blaster softly playing horribly cliché Chinese restaurant covers of pop songs, while another old dude watches and encourages - I’ve always assumed he was the political commissar, but he could just be the chaperone :p.
Be sure to sing all the verses. 
Canada does that too?
I’ve never managed to figure out what athletic contests have to do with national anthems. That is, I guess I can see it at the Olympics, when it’s more or less the countries competing against each other; but what does it have to do with contests between teams from the same country?
[quote=“Acsenray, post:125, topic:838286”]
Ahem.
Randy Newman.
[/QUOTE]“And then they each charged at the other, thrashing wildly, kicking, and spitting. I’ve never seen anything like that, Officer!”
FWIW in the UK they used to have mass community singing at the (soccer) Cup Final, where the traditional highlight was the hymn Abide With Me (written in the 1840s by a clergyman who had just learnt he had cancer). I don’t know if your condo meeting might consider it"s in the position that “change and decay in all around I see” or that it needs the “help of the helpless” - but might that be a possibility?
I think we’d all enjoy singing On The Street Where You Live. it’s an upbeat song that people like. Have you ever heard anyone say, "boy, I just hate that On The Street Where You Live song!!¡? Me neither.
Plus, people could show off a bit on the and ohhhh, the towering feeling part, drawing out the ohhh as long as they are able.
The prayer is childish, no doubt. The pledge makes sense, hoping it reminds them of why they have their job in the first place. They still need to replace the “under god” crap with something meaningful. Like, “…one nation, NO FILIBUSTERING, indivisible…”
It used to be “one nation indivisible”. The “under God” was added later, IIRC during the McCarthy era.
The whole enforced patriotism rituals thing is a PITA and it eventually (especially, as mentioned earlier, when you begin having it repeated across the event) makes it become background noise and a clue for a chance to hit the restroom or arrive 3 minutes late. Same for the opening invocations. However I do make very visible :rolleyes: if the invocator goes beyond “Yo, FSM, may thy noodly goodness guide us to make good decisions today” and instead begins to show off scripture-quoting prowess or delivering a current events homily.
However I and others share the belief that the Cocker/Basinger audiovisual version as linked by **kayaker **is one of humanity’s great achievements.
I would be on-board with a My Fair Lady tune as an anthem because my late mom looked just like Audrey Hepburn, only a redhead.
I wish people would not use public gatherings to force other to participate in their beliefs.
I urge you to take the knee while reciting it.
This is indeed childish. I don’t think I’ve had to recite it once since I was in sixth grade about 50 years ago. I would boycott he damned meetings myself.
Baseball doesn’t have a World Cup…
As to the Pledge of Allegiance, I don’t think I’ll ever be reciting it again.
Unless one day I choose to renounce the one I gave originally, and later change my mind.
Except for Major Major Major Major. You can’t allow a guy who hasn’t recited the Pledge to recite the Pledge.
Then throw him out the back window.
I think it was Mike Myers who suggested "one nation, under Canada…’