A few students are out of step with rest

Don’t our high school peers have respect – respect for our country, flag and national anthem? Now, I know that we Americans are united in respect for our flag, but why did it take the loss of many people before we started showing it? I am one to blame myself – I never had that respect before, either, but sometimes it takes something like this to make us all understand what the “United States of America” stands for.

My main reason for me writing is that I have noticed a lot of disrespect from my classmates in school. The first time I really paid attention to this was at a Friday night football game after the Sept. 11 attacks. We were having a moment of silence before the national anthem, and a group of students was laughing and talking. This more than anything else made me sad.

Then, at the past couple of assemblies that we have had, during the singing of the national anthem, people all around me were laughing and made fun of the singer. We had a Veterans Day assembly and we had a speaker and the school choir sang “God Bless America.” There were a few people who busted out laughing while this was being sung.

I have always been a person to defend my peers, but it is hard if they don’t have the respect that should be given to our country. We are the next generation.

Granite Falls