What does "Swearing allegiance" mean to you? I'm a Canadian Citizen. I had to pledge my "loyalty and allegiance" to the Queen of Canada. Even though I'm a stau

What does "Swearing allegiance" mean to you? I'm a Canadian Citizen. I had to pledge my "loyalty and allegiance" to the Queen of Canada. Even though I'm a staunch republican (in the traditional sense not American - I'm anti-monarchy) I don't base my decisions going through life on "But I pledged allegiance to the Queen, so I can/can't/should/shouldn't do that" Citizenship is not an indication of ethics, or priorities, it's a practical requirement of being a human existing in society. To be able to live in a country without a constant nightmare of bureaucracy, you pretty much need to be a citizen. Snowden lives in Russia, not being it's citizen would be a constant headache.