At the time, it was because I was convinced that the pledge was essentially worshipping a false idol, and if I continued to do it, I would go to hell. Teachers couldn’t fight that argument. Students didn’t fuck with it either. I stood. I didn’t cross my heart, and I didn’t say it.
About 6th or 7th grade, I started challenging my “faith” and realized that the pledge was essentially swearing fealty to something that was supposed to serve the people, not the other way around. By highschool, I didn’t even stand for it anymore. It was nationalism.
To get those rewards you typically have to endure some hardship or struggle first tho, and many people can’t tolerate that. They just want their creature comforts. It’s how you get hoarders drowning in their takeout buckets.
Given a choice, the brain will always take the laziest path. Which is why watching a screen and turning off your brain is so easy. The fact that it’s also designed to give you a dopamine hit makes it hard to stop.
I was about the same. Around junior high I was like, “wtf am I doing?” For me the first part was “under God,” that got to me. I had found it weird as a child even to say that and then I realized I didn’t want to say that at all. I thought it was strange when supposedly, we’re allowed to believe whatever we want. I never felt the connection or belief in the Catholic God (what I was, very, loosely raised under) and it started there. Hand on heart omitting , “under God.” Slowly it progressed to just standing and saying nothing. It’s probably been well over a decade since I’ve been in a situation to say the pledge, but if I were, I know I wouldn’t stand anymore.
I also, do not always stand for the National Anthem.
I stopped in elementary school.
At the time, it was because I was convinced that the pledge was essentially worshipping a false idol, and if I continued to do it, I would go to hell. Teachers couldn’t fight that argument. Students didn’t fuck with it either. I stood. I didn’t cross my heart, and I didn’t say it.
About 6th or 7th grade, I started challenging my “faith” and realized that the pledge was essentially swearing fealty to something that was supposed to serve the people, not the other way around. By highschool, I didn’t even stand for it anymore. It was nationalism.
If only there were more in this world with such critical thinking, maybe we wouldn’t be in such a shit state.
It doesn’t make sense. Critical thinking enables survival. Sometimes it’s not fun. Sometimes it doesn’t feel great.
But it’s typically more rewarding that not. That’s what I don’t understand.
Unfortunately for us tribalism also enables survival
To get those rewards you typically have to endure some hardship or struggle first tho, and many people can’t tolerate that. They just want their creature comforts. It’s how you get hoarders drowning in their takeout buckets.
Given a choice, the brain will always take the laziest path. Which is why watching a screen and turning off your brain is so easy. The fact that it’s also designed to give you a dopamine hit makes it hard to stop.
I was about the same. Around junior high I was like, “wtf am I doing?” For me the first part was “under God,” that got to me. I had found it weird as a child even to say that and then I realized I didn’t want to say that at all. I thought it was strange when supposedly, we’re allowed to believe whatever we want. I never felt the connection or belief in the Catholic God (what I was, very, loosely raised under) and it started there. Hand on heart omitting , “under God.” Slowly it progressed to just standing and saying nothing. It’s probably been well over a decade since I’ve been in a situation to say the pledge, but if I were, I know I wouldn’t stand anymore.
I also, do not always stand for the National Anthem.
I did the same. Stopped in elementary school. Cited religion and worshiping “something above God”
Never stood up for the anthem in homeroom again.