this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2025
303 points (89.4% liked)

Ask Lemmy

28204 readers
2887 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

If you asked me like 4-8 years ago, I felt kind of neutral about things. Now I don't feel an ounce bit patriotic or proud enough to even state that I'm an American.

Now, when I see an American flag around, I see it as a symbol of fascism, anti-intelluctialism, neo-nazism, and late-stage capitalism amongst other things. If there's an American flag flying on a car, I can totally see that person possessing at least one of those qualities.

I suppose it's good to be self aware and not blindly feel patriotic and ignoring that your country needs improvement.

I don't know what I'm expecting in the comments here but just thought I would get this off my chest.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Do USian school children still talk to that bit of fabric every morning - or is that a myth? From an outsider’s perspective I always put the US just below, uh, post-Weimar republic Germany in the excessive flag club chart placings. Always seemed excessively jingoistic.

Best of luck with your country…

[–] Excrubulent@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I'll tell this story as often as it's relevant - I was made to recite the pledge of alliegance in school at 5 years old. I wasn't a citizen, I should have had no reason to swear fealty, and our family was denied green cards, so the allegiance was not reciprocated.

Kind of dodged a bullet if I'm honest, but still, I remember it verbatim to this day, because I was indoctrinated when I was too small and naive to know any better. Not reciting it was not an option I was presented with. I don't think anybody in charge would've thought twice about it either.

[–] Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 hours ago

Damn, that’s a rough and crazy story but, like you say, looking at it now I agree you probably did dodge a bullet. At least you get to see the empire fall from the outside.

[–] WindyRebel@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Yes it still goes on. I live in a very liberal city with a ton of diversity bordering Chicago and our schools still do it here. However, they don’t care if you participate or not - that is your personal choice.

I have been substitute teaching and I’ve noticed that not many kids recite it. They just listen to it being recited over the morning announcements.

[–] Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I like the way your school works where you can chant along if you want - I remember having to lip-sync the “Lord’s prayer” (daily bread speech) as a kid so as not to get a whooping from a zealot in the staff room. Crazy times.

Best of luck to you, your kids and your city - you’re literally educating the generation that might have to dig your whole country out from the nightmare it appears to be building. Look after yourselves…

[–] WindyRebel@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago

Thank you! I think it’s a nice compromise. Those that want to say it can and others can feel and be who they want. I grew up saying it, but these days I do think it’s weird to pledge allegiance to a flag or that we have to constantly tout how we’re the best country (we’re not). With age comes wisdom and experience.