[fennecfoxen]

The US public education system really isn't doing a grand job teaching "patriotism" per se. Public school teachers, taken as a group nationwide, are notorious for being left-wing (and pro-union, and such.) The left wing has kind of been been down on Patriotism since around Vietnam or so, with only a brief interlude around Sep. 2001 through 2003 or so.

Oh, sure, there are regional variations and exceptions, but Texas is probably the only one with a population behind it worth counting.

[lostlogin]

I know someone who was suspended from school in Virginia 5-10 years ago for refusing to sing the national anthem. He was Scottish, yet was expected to howl along with the rest. Just standing up, hand on heart wasn't enough. Just an anecdata point.