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.

@PhoenixRosehere.....The Pledge didn't become popular until 1954 after Eisenhower pushed the addition of "under God" to it during "The Red Scare"....Ironically its that very phrase which made the US Supreme Court to decide it can't be mandatory to be said. Seperation of Church and State

@IncorribleTitmouse...I wish we lived close. I would teach you and your children

When he picked me up from the ferry Monday night he bawled like a baby and since then he has been bringing me food,my kids jave been bringing me food,my neighbors have been bringing me food

In the midst of a thread about American culture, this stands out to me as the most typical example of American culture on here.

I hope you're feeling much better soon, and I'm glad (but not at all surprised) that you're being looked after.

This interview with an Oxford professor a couple of months ago is relevant to this thread.

twitter.com/erikgeddes/status/1232963249206943744?s=20

Leaannb the weight will come back. Try to take a good multivitamin if you're not eating much and book an appointment with your GP in a month or so for a physical exam and blood work. We don't really know much about the sequela for CV but it's good to be cautious and get a new baseline in your chart.

I'll bet you were a really good patient.

Lobster, you're right, that is typical of American culture.

@Leaannb So kind of you, what a nice thing to say! I’ll definitely look into it. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

@HoldMyLobster...Its been avsolutely amazing. Alongside all of the food,the cards my office manager dropped off were in the hundreds,both of my personal vehicles were picked up yesterday by the local mechanic for tune ups,oil changes,and detailing. I offered to pay him and he refused which bothers me extremely bit what can I do. The local librarian delivered several books from my favorite authors so I have something to do while I recuperate. Very,very fortunate. Because this wasn't done because I'm an RN who was working in a major hospital during a pandemic. It was because a neighbor and friend was sick. Thats it

Well, there’s a difference between Americans and Canadians then: my neighbours would not pee on me if I was on fire. Neither would most of my friends actually. We’re polite, but we’re cold buggers (I have heard that this is different in the Maritimes and Maritimers I know find people out here shockingly cold and uncaring).

The pledge of allegiance is one of the practices that has allowed the US to instill a sense of shared nationhood among so many diverse immigrants.

And it ends with the words “liberty and justice” for all. We are far from achieving that as a nation and society, but it’s still good to remind us of our vision.

Ironically its that very phrase which made the US Supreme Court to decide it can't be mandatory to be said.

The Supreme Court case was in 1943, a decade before “under God” was added, but there was a religious basis to the decision. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not salute the flag or say the pledge as part of their beliefs, and they brought the case. But refusal to salute the flag and say the pledge has also been protected by the Supreme Court as political speech.

the problem with an obsession with flags is that it gives rise to nationalism, which in turn gives rise to racism.

I don’t think this is true with Americans and our flag. Americans of many different political and religious beliefs display the flag and there is no negative connotation. We have a flagpole on our house. We have three flags: US flag for national holidays, University of Georgia flag for every game day, and the Scottish Saltire, which we fly on St. Andrews Day and the birthday of Robert Burns.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Leaannb.

@Leaannb have you seen them outside houses?

@Anamarie...Are you talking about the flags? If so unequivocally yes. Most definitely in both Wales and the Midlands. Usually in the front window or Kitchen window

@leaannb okay. I have never seen them, and I have lived in Norwich,Liverpool, Manchester and Sussex. But I haven't seen all of the UK, so maybe it is popular in other areas.

@SenecaFallsRedux.....i'm talking all the other times that ot has been challenged. The last challenge reguarding the Pledge was in 2010

The Welsh are definitely more inclined toward flag-flying and national pride. Unfortunately the English flag has become synonymous with some unpleasant people on the far right, or that was the case when I lived in London back in the early 2000s anyway.

I lived in Wales for decades without seeing a flag being displayed at anyone's home (save for during the 5/6 nations maybe).

I do remember seeing loads in Northern Ireland though (which probably isn't surprising).

@Anamatie...It always stood out to me because as a child seeing national flags hung up in windows during the 80 and 84 Olympics. Even as a child that seemed weird to me because that was definitely not kosher stateside. I've seen it repeatedly throughout my life as a child and as an adult. Mainly during large multi national sporting events

@IncorrigibleTitmouse....I did see it in the early 2000s in Cambridge. I was recovering from my C-section on November 5, 2002 at Addenbrookes but thought it was because of Guy Fawkes Day. Which made sense to us

@leaannb Could well have been. I spent most of my life west of the Severn Bridge but when I was living in London friends told me they were afraid to display the St. George—even during sporting fixtures—for fear of being branded racist, which I thought was a real shame.

Interesting! Thank you! My DH told me that it’s mostly associated with the pro-gun lobby and the political right.
He's right, it's become associated with the Tea Party.

No to say that everyone who flies it is a Tea Party type, same as not everyone flying St. George's cross is a racist.

"I lived in Wales for decades without seeing a flag being displayed at anyone's home (save for during the 5/6 nations maybe)."

When did you leave? We do see it sometimes now. I can see them when I'm in the train for example.

"friends told me they were afraid to display the St. George—even during sporting fixtures—for fear of being branded racist, which I thought was a real shame."

Well, after the Emily Thornburry thing, I can see why.

When did you leave? We do see it sometimes now. I can see them when I'm in the train for example.
About fifteen years ago.

I'm not saying there are no homes in Wales that display the flag, but I remember it was when I moved to England that I first saw a flag, on a flagpole, outside someone's home. If you took a random sample of 100 welsh homes, I'd be unsurprised if none of them displayed a flag.

@Gwenhwyfar That whole débâcle was almost impossible to explain to Americans!

That whole débâcle was almost impossible to explain to Americans!

I just read an article in the Guardian about the incident and it's a complete mystery to me.

eh, I get it. She was making fun of a class of people and their perceived values and intelligence. Punching down.

There was a time when that would not have been ok in the US, either, no matter which group of people and what the politics of the politician. Right now, that kind of thing is really common and not much blowback for it though. I do hope we return to a more respectful culture in my lifetime.