Strictly speaking, if we’d done nothing at all it is highly unlikely that Hitler would ever have declared war against us.
I only do enough meaningless participation to avoid the “deliberate jerky avoidance” perception. It also makes a huge difference whether I’m directing my action toward an object (e.g. flag) or a concept (e.g. deity) or a person (e.g. applauding a performance)
Prayers: I stand politely, but don’t pray/sing along or bow my head (atheist, for the record)
Anthems: Stand politely if everyone else is, or go hit the bathroom or concessions. I don’t do the singing or hand-over-heart.
Speeches/Performances: Applause, cheer, and clap where appropriate, since it’s of perceived value to the performer.
Paycheck-earners: I’ll do everything without question or complaint. This includes saluting officers, handshaking customers, learning obligatory foreign introductions, attending bullshit morale-building workshops, etc.
You want to live in a country that would stand by while a genocidal madman steamrolls Europe and camps out almost in your own backyard? With lots of really big guns pointed over the English Channel?
No, but I might feel differently if I knew precisely how history would have panned out.
(In the hypothetical)
On the other hand, I am certain we should never have entered WWI, without which of course Hitler would never have come to power in the first place.
Stop trying to make out that they donned their uniforms with noble intent. They were conscripted by a government who cared more about political posturing than they did about those it was sending off to fight.
I’ll stand for the anthem out of respect for those who care about such things. I will never again recite the pledge as long as I live, I think it is pointless rote. I don’t do the hand over heart thing. Whether I do or don’t isn’t going to bring back those that died in the various wars over the years. If you think they died for our freedoms, that includes the right not to put your hand over your heart. If you don’t think I have the right not to do the hand over heart thing, then you aren’t too big on freedom, are you?
Right, so it is just your opinion. You’re not from those countries, you’ve probably not visit most of them. You do not get to decide which country should their citizens be proud of or not, other than express your opinion, which IMHO, is wrong.
I take it he didn’t mention yours?
Stop trying to make out that they didn’t have noble intent. You haven’t served. You don’t know. I have served. I know why I put the uniform on. I know why many of the guys I served with put it on.
Yugoslavians should be proud? Have you forgotten Rhodesians, Prussians, and Czechoslavaks?
I just noticed the list now, thanks to you, and realized that nope, my place is not there. 
But my complain about his view was based on a remark he said about Uruguay.
So, there are no people who joined the military because the prospects in Nowheresville, USA or Shitsville UK were that limited that travelling hundreds of miles to kill The Hun seemed like a good thing?
If you say so.
I’ve been to all but 5.
thelurkinghorror, Yugoslavia was on the list I used, which turns out to have been a list of good chemistry websites.
Which Korea did you mean? :dubious:
Don’t blame me, blame Cambridge!
Anyway, as a nit pick I’m fairly sure that both Koreas believe there to be only one Korea. Ha! Technicality!
They’ve got separate flags, separate governments and separate votes in the UN. Technicality overruled.
The only thing I can think of is that it hasn’t been updated since 2003, when the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia became the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Still, its “real” name was Serbia from 1992-present.
Clearly, there have been some men who served in the US armed forces because they were forced to and didn’t want to be there at all, and just as clearly, there have been some who served because they considered it a noble and righteous calling. How does an absolute statement either way make sense?
In any case, Yugoslavia as a whole was something to be more proud of than any individual baltic state.
My views are objective, not necessarily reflected by how the population feels of course. What happened after Tito’s death pretty demonstrates that.