No more than being offended at kneeling at the National Anthem. Like any ritual, it’s accepted that there are some people who take it very seriously.
Plus there’s the fact it’s traditional, and it sounds like the OP is new, so there could be an added effect of “how dare this new guy come in and change HOW WE’VE ALWAYS DONE THINGS.”
The issue with bringing it up is that the outcome is uncertain, and the effect is almost entirely symbolic and ceremonial, not practical. It doesn’t actually accomplish any of the goals one would normally bring up at a condo meeting. And you’re likely to make at least some people like you less–even if they don’t make a big deal out of it.
The only way I’d bring it up at a meeting would be if I had already discussed it with others to know I had someone to second the motion, and at least a good amount of support from people to actually get the procedure modified. Even if it’s less formal than that, I’d expect it to be something to be voted on.
Well, that is, if I didn’t just regard it as meaningless ritual that no one really believes–if they are even aware of what they are saying (other than maybe the “under God” part that should be removed.). How many people realize they are pledging allegiance to (1) an inanimate object (2) not establishing a monarchy (3) not seceding and (4) freedom and justice for every human being on the planet?
Would I rather it not be used in so many situations? Sure. Do I care enough to make myself a target for those who think it is a big deal, but don’t actually uphold that last part? Not really. The main thing you can count on me is support if I actually think it could be stopped in a particular situation. Otherwise, meh.
Is saying the pledge as an adult a relatively recent thing? I grew up in Iowa and the last time I remember saying it would have been 4th grade in around 1970. The schools I went to after that didn’t seem to bother. After university I worked in Omaha, Wichita, and Houston and was never heard the pledge, or an invocation for that matter. Maybe the IT industry is too secular or cynical for such things. Has there been a resurgence since I left the US in 1996?
This reminds me about the strange situation of high school athletics instructors–not just in Texas–having a secondary role as religious leaders. I’m vaguely aware of football coaches and such that routinely start training sessions with group prayers.
And then there’s the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a student group common even in public (non-religious) schools, which apparently treats kids who play sports as a fertile ground for the next generation of preachers.
Question from a foreigner - is it a bit like singing the national anthem? We don’t have any kind of pledge, but obviously every country has a national anthem and chooses to sing it at various events. We used to sing it at the end of term in school.
No, not really the same. Based on the examples above, if you were on your golf club’s committee then you’d do the pledge before starting a committee meeting. As in the UK, the anthem is sung at sporting events, but before nearly** any **event, not just internationals.
Back in the day, wasn’t the UK national anthem played in cinemas either just before or after the film?
British millitary don’t pledge in any way when they finish Basic or take up their commisions? Spanish military and elected representatives have different pledges, but they’re specifically linked to the job at hand: it doesn’t really matter whether Sargento Morales is terribly fond of Spain or not (after all, he may not even be a Spanish citizen), but he is expected to “pledge to the flag” in representation of his allegiance to the rest of the Spanish military. Similarly, a City Counselor may perfectly well be an independentist or a foreign citizen, but he is expected to pledge to follow those laws applying to his post.
I believe among anglophones what is the equivalent to the Spanish “jura de bandera” is called the ”oath” of allegiance/office/enlistment ( in Puerto Rico we use “jurar bandera” to refer to the citizenship naturalization oath). In Britain it is to the Monarch, in the US it is to the Constitution. The ”pledge” to the flag is more like a ritual “saludo” with no legal weight.
Just after. Ray Bradbury even wrote a short story, “The Anthem Sprinters,” about young men who would run out just after the movie ended but before the song began.
Thailand still does this but with the king’s anthem, just before the movie. (It is commonly banded about by the Unwashed Ignorant that it is the national anthem, but that is not true. It is the king’s anthem.) You WILL stand up for it.
From (I think) the First World War up until the late 50s/early 60s, it wasn’t uncommon to start concerts and even some theatrical performances with it, and at the end of the evening’s showings in cinemas (there’d be a film clip of the Queen looking dashing riding sidesaddle and saluting, but the effect was a bit spoilt by the curtains pulling across the screen and the house lights coming on). It didn’t suit people wanting to get to the pub before closing time, or to get a bus, leading to an awkward steeplechase as they clambered over the seats to get round some stalwart patriot blocking the end of the row.
As in this gag, at 02:10 in this video (sitcom set in 1941/2 or thereabouts):