Standing in unity
The land of the free and the home of the brave.
As an American, I 100% support everyone’s right to peaceful protest. I believe taking a knee during our National Anthem falls under the definition of a peaceful protest. Our men and women in uniform gave so much (some gave all) to protect our right to do so. It would basically be a slap in their face to tell us that we cannot exercise that freedom. I believe Donald Trump was wrong in calling out team owners to punish their athletes for exercising their freedoms. That in and of itself was disrespectful to our service men and women. If our freedoms aren’t ours, then what are they fighting for? I believe we were all created, different but equal, in the image of God. I believe in showing love and compassion to all people, for we love because He first loved us.
I also believe that kneeling during the National Anthem is the most disrespectful thing you can do towards our country, our flag, and our service men and women.
As an American, I have declared my allegiance to this country. This is my home and I am thankful to live here. I love this country. I stand and sing the National Anthem in the same way a husband says ‘I love you’ to his wife. It is an outward expression of an inward feeling of thanks and love. To deliberately refrain from the National Anthem is like a husband saying ‘I hate you’ to his wife. And what’s worse is, ‘I hate you’ is being said in front of the men and women who offer to lay down their life for this country.
I have heard that the idea of kneeling during the National Anthem is to send the message of unity. Well, most evil done in this world was by people with good intentions. This display does no more to unify us then asking if the dress is gold or blue. You see what you see. Some will see this as a sign of unity and peaceful protest for injustice. The rest will see it as disrespectful and turn off the TV. And I am sure there are several people that just read the previous paragraph and are already formulating a response as to why I am wrong instead of fully reading the rest of what I have to say. But just as the dress appears gold to me, I see disrespect to a country I love and I will not be convinced to see blue.
So what have you done to unify us? Absolutely nothing. When we embrace the National Anthem we are unified. We stand together, not as black or white, but as Americans. We place our hands over our hearts and spend the next few moments reflecting on the words and their meaning. It displays what is ideal for this country: The land of the free and the home of the brave. No, it is not a requirement to stand for the National Anthem. It is a privilege.
So I encourage everyone to stand together in unity and give thanks to this country, for while there are imperfections and injustice, we have so much to be thankful for.
