If you want to instill patriotic feelings, I'd think there would be more productive means.

But it's a great way to sell flags!

Yeah, I declined to say the pledge and to sing the anthem (although I do have the range, usually) and sepending on how radical I`m feeling, I will sit. For me it started when I discovered what had happened with the Japanese American internment during World War II. Once I understood that, it was no longer a government I was willing to pledge allegiance to.
 
Although I do love the enthusiastic singing of the anthem that happens at Chicago Blackhawks games.

For some reason, singing the national anthem is less oogy to me than reciting the Pledge. Maybe because the lyrics are more "American flag, YAY! Things go boom, yay!" whereas the pledge of alleigence is a pledge of alleigence. Singing the national anthem doesn't imply a promise to do anything else.

I neither said the pledge, nor stood. When I was quaker, there's a fundamental opposition to loyalty pledges (Ido not swear on a bible, just agree to tell the truth) and later, I took political and god-clause issue to it.

Not really here, just waiting for something to process.

Ha for hockey anthem crosspost. I do, in fact, know all the words to the Canadian national anthem too, but only in English. We don`t watch enough Montreal games to know the French one.

I have no issue with it. It's like going to a Kings Game and standing through the Canadian Anthem. It's just respectful.

There was a period of about a decade where there'd been an agreement of sorts to replace God Save The Queen with Advance Australia Fair as Australia's anthem, but it hadn't been made official. My grandfather, who was an ornery bastard, would stubbornly stay seated when everyone else stood for A.A.F., and then stand for G.S.T.Q.

I remember saying it in grade school, no matter where we moved. I don't remember ever saying it in High School at either the Catholic girls' school or the public High School I attended Senior year.

I also think it's weird to pledge allegiance to a flag first, not to the ideals of the country. I think there's something beautifully medieval about the idea of a allegiance, implying a liege lord.

I agree and this is why I stood politely, but did not recite the pledge.

I guess I can explain it best with paraphrased Steve Van Zandt lyrics.

I am a Patriot and I love my country...but what I believe in my heart, it ain't what I see with my eyes.

Where I grew up, I did not see justice for all, nor did I see leadership worthy of my oath. Too many symbols are idealized for reasons other than the ideals they are supposed to represent.

I can be respectful of an anthem in a way I can't of a pledge. Again though, commie hippie over here.

I will also note, at my Catholic schools, we NEVER said the pledge. In elementary school, we did have morning prayer, grace before lunch, after recess prayer and then final prayer in elementary school. It was like they tried to follow some sort of monastic prayer schedule.

In high school we just did morning prayer.