My sister is fanatical about standing up when the national anthem is played. She does it even when no one’s watching. She was punished in school as a child when she insisted on standing up even when the national anthem was just being practised in singing class. She was relentless in her principles, however. My father is largely to blame. He trained us rigorously.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt at the 2012 Olympics, where he made a buzz for all the right reasons after he halted an interview with a Spanish news reporter because the US national anthem was playing. Pic/AFP