Hypothetical -

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Pretend you're in First Grade.

You move to another country.

At school, you and your classmates gather around the flag pole to do the pledge of allegiance to ___ (insert new country here) __.

What do you do?

I copy them.

i respectfully stand quietly while they do their flag ritual.

I stare at them wondering what they're doing, thinking them weird and silly. I stand about passively, not copying them, not asking any questions, and once they're done, I'll feel confused and unimpressed with their rituals, which I would no doubt find as boring and lame as I did the church services elementary school forced us to go to.
I wouldn't pick up on saying it no matter how many years I spent in school in that country. Just like I didn't sing in music, and didn't mutter good morning when the teacher greeted us daily.

Last edited by Skilpadde on 27 Oct 2012, 1:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

^^^ This

If I understood the language, I'd probably go along with it. I'm just a kid, after all.
If I didn't understand the language, I'd just stand there and watch.

Thanks for the responses so far. Please keep them coming.
I've given this hypothetical to everyone I know and I'm still gathering data.
Mindsigh - To clarify, yes, "you" do understand and can communicate in the language of the new country.

I actually went through this and in hindsight my reaction was a bit bizarre for a 5/6 year old. Not sure if it has anything to do with AS.

Now I'm curious. I look forward to hearing what you did, patdbunny!

mostly that. as a kid i thought it was stupid to have to declare allegiance to a country. what if you didn't identify as belonging to it? what if you thought what it did was wrong or stupid? what if you just hated it? i do not like declaring my fealty to a government or country. this is why i did not like the guide promise when i was a kid. it is kinda similar to a pledge: "i promise to do my best to serve the queen and my country". i am glad i do not live in america or i would have been forced into doing just that.

Never understood it, and never even understood that I didnt understand it.

In gradeschool it was what we did.
Though I had trouble with the concept of how America could be "one nation INVISIBLE, with liberty and justice blah blah".

Like.. does that mean if you were driving north from Mexico and crossed the Rio Grande you would just magically appear in Canada without having seen the USA? How did the USA keep itsself 'invisible'?

Our Fifth Grade teacher (the only male teacher I had in gradeschool-not that that particularly relevent) was a maverich and replied "its just standing up and mumbling a bunch of words you dont know the meaning of" when asked why we didnt do the pledge in his class.

But if I were in Ethiopia and all the other six year olds were pledging allegiance- I would do it too- cause it would be the thing to do- cause I would be just a six year old myself with no opinion and no attitude about it.

That sounds so much cooler than the original!

I've never been a follower so I stand by my original reply. I should add that I'm not American, so I don't have to think "what if I wasn't used to this?". I'm not used to it, we have never done anything like that. We have no pledge of allegiance and we never assembled by the flag pole.

Face east and mutter "Allahu Akbah ... Allahu Akbah ... Allahu Akbah ... Allahu Akbah ... Allahu Akbah ..." until the teacher tells me to shut up.

Well, the way it was done was that there was a little flag hanging in each classroom-were the blackboard is. We would all stand up, and put our hands on our hearts, and say the pledge. Then sit down and start the day. You didnt have to go outside and gather around a big flag pole.

But glad that you like my version. I actually remember asking my mom what "invisible" had to do with anything (after saying it that way 100's of times in class). She had to explain that it was "in-DI-visable".

But i remember seeing a flim clip school kids in Ethiopia, outdoors in front of thier thatched hut school house, reciting their pledge of allegiance (they were gathered around a flagpole). So it not just an american thing. Though I dont think that do it so much anymore. That maverick teacher I had was ahead of his time is dispensing with the practice.