Basically: In some countries, the pledge is with the constitution or the people, but in others (like constitutional monarchies), its a pledge to the (constitutional) monarch and their successors.

What is your opinion on this loyalty pledge? Do you believe it’s a reasonable request?

(For context: My mother and older brother had to do the pledge to gain [US] citizenship so the idea of deportation isn’t looming over our heads. I didn’t have do it because I was under 18 and my mother’s citizenship status automatically carried over to me according to the law.)

  • cloudless@piefed.socialEnglish
    51·
    1 day ago

    It all depends on the details. If I have to be loyal to a dictator, I would not pledge, and I would not move to such countries anyway.

    • DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.worksOP
      6·
      1 day ago

      I’m not Canadian, but I glanced over their oath, the official government explanation is that you’re not pledging to King Charles, but rather, the personification of Canada.

      https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/discover-canada/read-online/oath-citizenship.html

      In Canada, we profess our loyalty to a person who represents all Canadians and not to a document such as a constitution, a banner such as a flag, or a geopolitical entity such as a country. In our constitutional monarchy, these elements are encompassed by the Sovereign (Queen or King). It is a remarkably simple yet powerful principle: Canada is personified by the Sovereign just as the Sovereign is personified by Canada.

      If you were an immigrant to Canada, would that’ve been okay with you?

      Anyways, here in the US, the citizenship oath is a pledge to the constitution, which by the way, is distinct from the silly US school pledge to the “flag” lol.

      • cloudless@piefed.socialEnglish
        3·
        1 day ago

        I don’t feel loyalty to any particular country, not even my own. We all live on this small planet called Earth.

        That said, I wouldn’t mind taking the pledge for immigration purposes, as long as I respect the country’s values (democracy, laws, and so on). Canada seems cool.