to think we really are 2 completely different cultures - the USA and the UK - just looking at the 'rebellion' taking place

[chomalungma]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8228769/Bleak-figures-China-US-economic-hit-virus.html

I know it's only some Americans. I know that it's a massive country with many many more people than the UK

But these scenes are astounding. People flocking to beaches. Protesting about lockdown.
Protesting with guns about lockdown

You just can't imagine these scenes in the UK at the moment.
Especially not the Ohio Zombie picture

It just amazes me - sometimes you think we are very similar to the USA, and then many times, you realise we are completely different.

Yes, the exact same problems of nationalism, racism and thinking that we are the best in the world, exists in both the UK and the UsA.

Huge parts of the UsA were colonised by the English of course, so it makes sense

where is there collective daily worship in school? There wasn't in my UK school

It's a legal requirement - and schools are supposed to have one
Common in primary schools.
Much less common in secondary schools

@chomalungma I went to my first primary school in England, and we didn't have collective daily worship.

I then went to my second primary school in the Republicof Ireland, and they taught religion, but they gave me the total option to opt out of it, as I had just come from England and wasn't Catholic. So i never studied any religion at all, it was great I used to have more time to do study and homework

@chomalungma I looked online, it said only 37% of primary schools in England are religious. Many schools are non demoninational

Annamarie
You said
Yes, I want people to stand in their own power more, but we all need to work out a way together

It is laudable that you want to give everyone the power but that means giving everyone who might not agree with you the power to say yes or no and as with Brexit, the last election etc there are more people who disagree with you than agree so you could end up worse off.

Then you have to have someone to organise the questions and decisions to be asked and implement the results in which case you are back to having a ruling body.

Many schools are non demoninational

Doesn't matter.

It is a legal requirement for a school to do a daily act of collective worship. Regardless of the school.

Many schools don't do this - as you have found out - and Ofsted aren't really bothered about it.

But it is the law.

I could Google the link for you - but I can't be bothered - and I am sure you can do that yourself.

I then went to my second primary school in the Republicof Ireland, and they taught religion, but they gave me the total option to opt out of it, as I had just come from England and wasn't Catholic

The law on Collective Worship in the UK has nothing to do with the Republic of Ireland. For some reason.

@chomalungma the point is it doesn't matter - as it is a law that is not enforced.

@chomalungma yes, just as this is a UK and Irish site and I have experience of both school systems, I wanted to point out that I wasn't made to do religious practice in either system.

That is what I would like to hear more about - are children able to opt out of the pledge of allegiance? And not say it? Is anyone on here right now American?

are children able to opt out of the pledge of allegiance

Didn't some on say that upthread?

Link here

lmgtfy.com/?q=opt+out+of+pledge+of+allegiance

Supreme Court Case

www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/319/624

@chomalungma no one said about it about their personal experience on here. Reading back through the last couple of pages, all of the Americans have said that they did say the pledge of allegiance in school.

If any American on here can say that you were personally able to opt out of the pledge of allegiance in school, please say it

@Annamaria14

I’m American and I’m here reading but not bothering to answer because I just don’t care.

You’ve called Americans scary because of some anecdotal evidence. I don’t really see how that’s different than any other discrimination, based on lack of understanding. As the saying goes, “ignorance breeds contempt.”

It’s ok with if you think poorly of us, our country, our constitution, our people. Not our job to try to change your mind. 🤷‍♀️

If you don’t like a place and it’s people, just don’t go.

@hannayeah then why reply at all?

I called the pledge of allegiance scary. Which it is. Making young children pledge allegiance to a flag every day is ridiculous behaviour:

I have just emailed my friends in the USA and asked them were they able to not say kt, they said that they had to say it.

I am still waiting for some one to answer whether they were personally able to opt out of the pledge of allegiance

@HannaYeah the thing is Hannah , I don't see anyone as being from "one country".

We are from the world.

The problems in the USA, nationalism racism and superiority affect the whole world.
The problems in the UK affect the whole world.
The problems in Africa affect the whole world.

All of these things affect all of us

Many secondary schools comply with the law on 'collective' worship by doing so with the kids all in their tutor rooms listening to the tannoy. My thought about the US Oath of Allegiance is can you say it but with the 'under god' bit left out, because the clunky insertion in between one nation and indivisible completely changes the meaning.

And something we would never do is pledge allegiance to a piece of cloth. Our flag is not sacred. We use it as a teatowel, a shopping bag, and at the Olympics when they finally happen, we shall wear it on our arses.

When Saddam Hussein put down Union Jack doormats for the journalists to walk over, he meant it as an insult but to the Brits it seemed like a compliment. We also have Union Jack doormats.

Annamaria14
I’m American, in my fifties. In school, some of us said the pledge, some mumbled some of the words, some were silent. I don’t remember anyone being reminded or forced to say the pledge.

What pisses me off, is that those kids, holding those songs...have NO idea what they actually mean, or even the impact of the virus, and they are being put at risk by adults who are supposed to care for them.

Just popping into say lots of posters don't like to be @'d for the same reason the poster gave upthread.

There have been threads about it.

I care not either way but have got into the habit of not doing it unless asked 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Annamaria14
Also we are taught our right to free speech at an early age and I believe most students, other than the youngest, are aware that the school cannot force them to say the pledge.

Id say we are completely different on so many things especially healthcare and abortion. I know the uk isnt perfect but by god im thankful for living here and not in the us

Annamaria14

THEY DID!

The parents STOOD THEIR CHILD ON TOP OF THE BARRIER so he could get a better look.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20200043

What sort of idiot puts a small, wriggly child on top of a security barrier?

These people walk among us - Bill Bryson (I think) tells of a park ranger who had to physically intervene when he saw a woman smearing jam on her child's face so she could get a photograph of a (wild) bear licking it off! She thought it would be okay, despite huge notices saying "Stay in your Car" , "Keep windows closed" and "Do NOT feed the bears"

There are some people who should just not have the responsibility of a child.

The news report

@schaden ah I see. I was looking at a different report about a child falling into a wild dog pit, at a different zoo, at an African zoo

You are forgiven.