"I stand for the National Anthem and the Pledge secure in the knowledge that if I do so, very few people will ever question my commitment to the ideals referred to in them, or inquire whether my rhetoric or actions are consistent with them, or suggest that I am standing out of self-interest or calculation, or use it in an opportunity to delve into my relationships or personal history. By contrast, if I don't stand, I know that people will question all of those things (and, sometimes, not unreasonably.)"
I stand for the National Anthem. It might be passé to show clear support for any State, but I am glad to be able to live in this one, despite its many faults. We surely haven't the resources and technology to live in a stateless society yet, and looking at the history of human civilization, at least this one has a judicial system. I also stand for the National Anthem because we shouldn't take everything to mean everything. I am not a religious person, but when I am at a Catholic mass, I still take communion and say 'amen' when the priest hands me what he sees to be the body of Christ. I enjoy that ritual.
Just a technicality. If you're not confirmed in the faith it is considered improper to take communion. So if I were in a Catholic church, being confirmed in the Anglican Church I would not take communion.I am not a religious person, but when I am at a Catholic mass, I still take communion and say 'amen' when the priest hands me what he sees to be the body of Christ. I enjoy that ritual.
indeed. What I raised was sort of outside the point of what you were saying - Sorry, I do that sometimes. Does observance of the ritual imply a need of participation? could you feel fulfilled in that ritual just by seeing others partake in it?
Agreed - And not just Catholic ones, and not just the ritual. I mean, who doesn't love some of the most famous classical pieces of all time? Vivaldi - Gloria Mozart - Requiem Mass Bach's B Minor Mass and, a personal favourite, Brahms Deutsche Requiem