As a JW, did you ever stand for the national anthem ... (page 4)

eclipse

Even if I, too, left the Brotherhood

There's hope for you yet, Mad!

Rebirth

Standing is respecting our country. It is rude to sit. Actually quite ironic that because we live in countries that value religious freedom, we CAN sit.

tnangel73

I always stood. And my father did also. I never knew it was such a big deal until years later.

To choosing life: Yes, WCG stands for Worldwide Church of God, and yes they were just as bad as JWs, and very similar, in my opinion. Sorry if I was unclear in my post, it's just that I sometimes feel I go on and on about WCG since that is my background, so rather than risk sounding like a broken record, I gloss over it to get straight to the point of the topic. If formatting wasn't so screwy on profiles, I'd put a short little bio in there which might save some confusion, but the time I tried to, there were no paragraph breaks.

deeskis

There seems to be a range of variable in situations such as this. My parents (elder dad), told us that it was disrespectful to stay sitting, and that we should stand if the anthem was played, but not to sing. It wasn't so much of an issue in where we lived, the anthem wasn't played much at school, not like the US where you had to salute the flag etc. We just had it play sometimes at sporting events and the movies, but we always stood.

Black Sheep

I always sat and felt like a fish out of water. I never felt proud of being that odd one out.

I was just doing it because I had to and I hated it.

restrangled

When my mom was a little girl in a one room school house, she and her brother were not allowed to stand for the flag salute. The teacher went nuts and threatened to expel them. They never did stand. My aunt was made to stand in the corner in a garbage can for not standing to salute the flag. I'm sure they all sat for the national anthem.

I remember staying seated for the anthem, but in later years stood and even mouthed the words....just not aloud.

My own kids..... I never even brought up the subject.

r

White Dove

If you believe in proper (to a reasonable degree) etiquette, you will stand for the national anthem. It just means respect. It is not a statement of agreement. "To he who calls for honor, give such honor..." There! A scripture to refute the JW's and support Miss Manners (She does seem to go over the top sometimes but has good points)!

Really, symbols have only as much meaning or value as you give them. Standing doesn't have to mean a thing if you don't want it to. It could mean, "I don't want to look like a jerk or get beat up." And for lurkers: "I don't want to give Jehovah a bad name." My favorite pieces of jewelry are a cross and a pentical. They have different meanings for me than others, although I am careful where I wear them.

Chenoa

As a JW, did you ever stand for the national anthem ...