We should just have military parades and drive our missiles and tanks around D.C. Just look how Russia and North Korea do it.
I think you're thinking of the Soviet Union during WWII or the Cold War era.
It's been only one year for a decade or so.
In the past, the attitude toward conscripted service (rather than a career choice as a commissioned officer) was ranging from a nuisance to something to be avoided at all costs, depending on the class and region the conscript was from.
Now while it's considered as a nuisance by many, military service is also seen as a type of social elevator by others, particularly in the Caucusus. Drafts from Chechnya and Dagestan are generally oversubscribed and having to pay bribes to be conscripted is not uncommon [1].
There's absolutely nothing like the disturbing hero worship Americans have.
Seconded. Furthermore, the threshold for being considered a hero is very high. Being called a hero just for putting on the uniform is unthinkable.
Also, a lot of other countries don't have such extreme levels of jingoism, certainly not in Europe we don't. World War II taught us where such extreme patriotism leads. Trump is a natural and direct result of jingoism; but yet it continues.
Jingoism is alive and well in some parts of the UK print media.
And sport is a private sector activity -- why should the government be involved?
Only US citizens should recite the pledge of allegiance. Non US citizens owe their loyalty to another country. But schools don't do that, because it would mean identifying US citizens.
I'm firmly convinced that no child, citizen or not, should engage in a daily ritual like that, especially not at school. The worst aspect of contemporary education -- not only in the US, but in many other countries -- is teaching through indoctrination. Instead of encouraging our kids to develop their critical thinking, our educational systems focus on making them learn by repetition and trust the authority.
These differences my seem subtle or even trivial, but history has shown that it is dangerous.
Note that in the US soldiers and other holders of the public trust swear to uphold the country's constitution, not its flag.
It all comes down to the order of primacy: the country, constitution, civil institutions, chain of command etc are all in service to the support of the citizenry not the other way around.
Individually and collectively perhaps, but not only the Republic.