More on Protests

I am embarrassed. No, it is not those who disrespect the flag and the anthem, but we will address that a little later. I am embarrassed by the fans in England. After a rather emasculated version of the “Star Spangled Banner,” a lady sang the national anthem of Great Britain. (“God Save the Queen,” I believe.”) Her rendition was masterful and musically magnificent. (As for our anthem singer, my philosophy is, “If you can’t sing the song, don’t.” But I digress.)

What embarrassed me was that during the British anthem you could hear the full throated participation of the crowd. It was nearly possible to decipher the words, a challenge for any choir. And for an impromptu, “volunteer” choir to do such a job was amazing.

But even more amazing was the participation. It was not the wimpy mouthing of the words that mark American fans at nearly every venue during the national anthem. A lot of the Brits were singing and they were singing loudly.

If we, as Americans, are put off by those protesting during the anthem, let’s let them know by an overwhelming participation in singing that song. Let your patriotism show or rather be heard. Can’t sing? Most of those around you can’t either, but when you all let ‘er rip, no one can tell.

Sing, America! Show your pride and respect.

And for those who deny that the protest should be considered an offense to the flag, consider this. A lot of the same crowd that praises the protests are the same ones who are offended by people flying the Confederate battle flag and revering Civil War monuments. The battle stems from the “perception” of what the objects mean. What offends one is a respected symbol to another.

If you can tolerate disrespecting the flag to make a point, then you better not be offended when someone else disrespects something you hold dear to make a point. “Freedom of speech and expression” cuts both ways. You cannot repress one expression while exercising another.

We have some “real” problems in our country. They include the health care crisis, the devastating budget and national debt debacle, North Korea’s insanity, Iran’s development of ICBM missiles coupled with their nuclear capacity, the immigrant crisis all over the world, etc. And our most pressing issue of the day is whether we stand or kneel and whether we respect and revere an old flag or statues of a defeated army? Surely we can expend a little of our energy on addressing real problems.

Stand, kneel, or sing. But then turn attention to the problems that threaten our country and indeed the entire world.