Freedom isn’t free, but it has been, is being and will continue to be paid for by the noblest and most honorable of men, women and all gender persuasions.
While I respect people with the opposing opinion, I have to cast my voice to the chorus of those who believe that those willing to exercise their right to protest during the national anthem are doing so not in a manner of disrespect or hatred toward our country as a whole, but to certain aspects that the flag and the words our anthem gives praise to.
Do I love this country? Very much so. But are there things going on that I see as intolerable and insufferable? You bet.
Do I love and support the troops that have blessed me with my rights, liberties and freedoms? Whole-heartedly. But do I think our military, to no fault of the voluntarily enlisted troops themselves, has gotten too involved in too many countries for the wrong reasons for far too long? Undoubtedly.
Do I respect the police that keep me and my community safe and wish that their job was less chaotic and stressful? A thousand times over. But can I stand by and watch as bad actors, bad policies and a flawed system allow for sometimes innocent and often misjudged/mischaracterized citizens to be injured or killed? Absolutely not. And I’d be willing to bet that the vast majority of people, celebrity or everyday citizen, who are protesting the anthem feel exactly the same way.
Rights are like muscles. If you don’t exercise them and put them to good use, of what good are they and what do they mean to you? Why did so many fight and die to provide and protect them if you’re only going to take them for granted? Don’t stand merely because it’s the common or “right” thing to do, do it because you feel it’s right or don’t if you feel it’s not.
And to rebuff the letter, “Men free to sit, thanks to others”: “These rich men” are not “ignorant” to the fact that they are free and North Koreans are not, they are refusing to be ignorant to and unappreciative of the rights they’ve been given. “These rich men” are literally putting their careers on the line by defying the “STANDard operating procedure” that the NFL has advised (players have been released for much less).
I, for one, have more respect for those who stand up to adversity and refuse to sit on the sidelines while their environment spits at their feet than I do for the people who stroll along doing what is comfortable, safe, socially “acceptable” and politically correct.
Gabe Schmuck
Lake Stevens
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