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They do still sing "God Save the Queen", though, right?
entirely different , that's the national anthem , kiwis sing god defend new Zealand but you wont hear the NZ prime minister finishing a speech with " god bless new Zealand "
On a different note: The Aussie prime minister obviously said "God save the Queen" after she ended a government shutdown in 1975 by firing everyone in parliament
The song "God Bless America" was written by a Jewish song writer, Irving Berlin, almost a hundred years ago.
The USA does not have a state church like Britain or other countries. Historically the population was divided into numerous different Christian and Jewish sects, all of whom believe in God, so "God Bless America" was a way to show religious unity and cultural tolerance for these different groups.
Why is it that I hear American politicians talking about "the American people" more than Canadian politicians evoking "the Canadian people" or British politicians, "the British people", or French politicians, "the French people", or Brazilian politicians, "the Brazilian people", or Australian politicians, "the Australian people", etc.? Does it have to do with the United States, unlike many other countries, having started out on a Biblical basis (cf. "the Jewish people" - and I don't hear so much of "the Italian people", "the Greek people", "the Persian people", "the Thai people", "the Japanese people", etc.), if you will?
I think it is a historical habit. When colonists in the thirteen colonies began to agitate against the London government for various reasons, they were demanding the traditional rights of Englishmen. They were not at first invoking anything "American," they were also, after all, thirteen separate political entities.
When delegates from the colonies met as a group and decided upon independence, it was no longer a case of demanding their traditional rights as Englishmen, nor were they the same thirteen separate political entities. They had to be something or fall apart, and Americans and American people it was...and I think because it was a new identity it was repeatedly invoked in part as an act of self-convincement.
And, I think, we continue to reaffirm/recreate our unity in the face of various historical events and trends which might bring it into question, e.g. the influx of Catholic, Jewish, southern European immigrants who were not a part of the original idea of the "American people."
Unless they're criticising someone by labelling them with that old tag of "un-Australian". I wonder whether you'd hear the term "un-French" or "un-Norwegian" in those countries?
Australians do that "un" thing to? Americans love that prefix when they don't like someone.
" god bless America " sounds at best incredibly cheesy and at worst , downright arrogant , America deserves special attention from god
Our money has "In God We trust" printed on it. The pledge of allegiance has the two words "under God" added to it. Speaking of that, how many other countries pledge allegiance and if so, do you pledge to your nation or your flag?
Our money has "In God We trust" printed on it. The pledge of allegiance has the two words "under God" added to it. Speaking of that, how many other countries pledge allegiance and if so, do you pledge to your nation or your flag?
Canadians don't pledge allegiance, but immigrants upon taking the oath of citizenship pledge allegiance to the Queen. Our flag only dates back to the 60's and isn't imbued with much mystical feeling, and we are many nations bound into a loose federation by a history of British imperialism, so pledging allegiance to the Crown becomes logical in that context.
Our money has "In God We trust" printed on it. The pledge of allegiance has the two words "under God" added to it. Speaking of that, how many other countries pledge allegiance and if so, do you pledge to your nation or your flag?
Canadians don't pledge allegiance, but immigrants upon taking the oath of citizenship pledge allegiance to the Queen. Our flag only dates back to the 60's and isn't imbued with much mystical feeling, and we are many nations bound into a loose federation by a history of British imperialism, so pledging allegiance to the Crown becomes logical in that context. The Crown is symbolic of the state, the social contract for the public good, with the monarch being more the avatar of that state and history. That's why court cases are "The Crown vs. John Smith" and public land is Crown land. So the oath is ostensibly a pledge of allegiance to an individual, but it's true symbolic meaning is a pledge of allegiance to the rule of law over which she presides.
Canadians don't pledge allegiance, but immigrants upon taking the oath of citizenship pledge allegiance to the Queen. Our flag only dates back to the 60's and isn't imbued with much mystical feeling, and we are many nations bound into a loose federation by a history of British imperialism, so pledging allegiance to the Crown becomes logical in that context. The Crown is symbolic of the state, the social contract for the public good, with the monarch being more the avatar of that state and history. That's why court cases are "The Crown vs. John Smith" and public land is Crown land. So the oath is ostensibly a pledge of allegiance to an individual, but it's true symbolic meaning is a pledge of allegiance to the rule of law over which she presides.
That makes sense. We have no connection to a monarchy so the flag is the only symbol we really have. Personally, I wish it was to our constitution but whatever.
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