KERRY SINK, San Clemente
In the United States we have the most freedom in the world.
In China or Russia, if you have a good idea, you get to give it to the government. If you protest the administration, you are jailed or worse. In India and Africa, the religious persecution has reached the levels comparable to the Middle East. South America has poverty beyond belief, and there are many other examples.
All over the globe, there are human rights being trampled on by their own government or neighboring tribes. The world sucks in a lot of places.
In the United States, we do have police brutality, sleazy movie directors, corrupt politicians and other societal maladies. We have white supremacists, anti-Semitism, homophobia and xenophobia, just to name a few.
What we do have that is better than a lot of these places is our rights: the right to protest, assemble and keep your own ideas. You can start a tech company or a rap demo. We can surf and jog and go to work and earn a better life. We are protected from our enemies and get some social security. We have infrastructure to help us get to where we are going. Yes, we pay for this, but isn’t it worth it?
Let’s all stand for the flag and the anthem it deserves and leave knickknack politics to the politicians. We are better than that, aren’t we? I know I am.
I am with you until your closing. The events leading up to these protests go beyond politics,, which you made clear in the beginning.
The flag, with its 13 stripes and 50 Stars, and our National Anthem, stand for “One nation, under God (added in 1954), indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” The question is are we “On nation, indivisible … “ or are we “One nation, divided, without liberty and justice for all?”
In your words, “we do have police brutality, sleazy movie directors, corrupt politicians and other societal maladies. We have white supremacists, anti-Semitism, homophobia and xenophobia, just to name a few.,” and that is what divides us.
By kneeling with heads bowed, they did not disrespect the flag or the National Anthem. What they did in that moment was say ENOUGH. Let us become what our flag and National Anthem stand for, “ONE NATION, UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.”
Is that too much to ask for?
Sitting or kneeling during OUR National Anthem is disrespectful
@ Joanna