ATTN when did you know you were not like other people

[DFW]

31. My daughter had the same reaction when she first attended an American school

Her English was fine, but I had forgotten that they did that in American schools, and she had never heard the words “pledge” or “allegiance” before. So after a few days, when she realized this was some kind of daily ritual, she asked me what the ritual chanting was all about. I had no idea what she meant at first, and asked what they chanted. She said it started out with “I spread the peaches” and continued with some unintelligible mumbling. I was lost at first until she said they all put their hands on their chests. Then I got it and explained it. Having grown up in Germany, where extremist patriotism was (for obvious reasons) discouraged, she couldn’t understand why American kids needed to be reminded on a daily basis what country they came from.