FREE
vol 3 issue 7
october 2018
CC Biker & Motorsports
S T A ND
F O R
THE FLAG
(Just a short warning in advance…this is my opinion, and I don’t expect every single person to agree with me. But since this is such a hot button issue in this country right now, I think it needs to be addressed. If we could all meet and have a civil dialogue on this subject, we might all get along better!) By Kelli Langley
V
ery few issues are as controversial and divisive as the situation with professional athletes kneeling in protest when our Flag flies and our National Anthem is played. Players have claimed they kneel because the Anthem has a racist verse; because of police brutality against black Americans; because black Americans are oppressed…. and this list goes on….There are as many reasons for the “protest” as there are players kneeling. But the question is, why disrespect the flag? Since 1777, our flag has flown over battlefields in the United States, Mexico, Europe, the Pacific Islands, Korea, Asia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and any other place our troops are deployed. Hundreds of thousands of brave soldiers, sailors and Marines of all races and religions have given their lives fighting for what people now call “just a piece of cloth”. The photo of six Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima in 1945, a battle in which 6,800 Americans lost their lives and another 20,000 were injured or missing, has become one of the most copied photographs of all time and symbolizes how American service members respected and revered the flag as a symbol of our nation. Until recently, the flag has been a symbol of pride and love for our country. Each school child began his or her day with hand over heart, reciting the flag salute. Men removed their hats when the flag passed or the Anthem played, and people took great care to never let the flag touch the ground. The flag was present at every presidential inauguration, in every school classroom, and at most public events. A large American flag graced the podium when Martin Luther King gave his infamous “I
Have a Dream” speech. And perhaps most importantly, the American flag draped the coffin of every service member killed in the line of duty as their remains were shipped back to their loved ones, signifying what that person fought and died for.
bringing his “protest” to the attention of the media. Of course, this athlete needed that attention, as he had been benched for ineffectiveness and was in line to lose several big money endorsements. The media, hungry for a controversial story, covered his “proThe flag represents freedom and our test” day and night. rights: freedom that most residents of At first he claimed he was protestother countries do not have. In many ing the National Anthem because countries in the world a person could the third verse made reference to be jailed or even executed for speak- slavery; then he claimed he was ing out against the government; here protesting because black Americans the right to do so is protected under were being oppressed (while playing the First Amendment. In many coun- in a league where the majority of tries citizens cannot arm themselves; players are black and make millions we have the Second Amendment, of dollars a year); he then decided which protects our rights to do so. he was protesting because of poWe have the right to fail and speedy lice brutality toward young black trials, to not be subjected to cruel and men. The media followed his every unusual punishment, and to elect our move, making him a hero to many own government. Women and mi- who shared his views. It wasn’t long norities have the right to vote and the before other players were following right to equality. We have the right to his lead, refusing to stand for the Ancome and go as we please, the right them and voicing their opinions on to an education, and the right to raise why they wouldn’t respect the flag. our children as we see fit. Want to High school kids who had no idea dress like the opposite sex? Go for it. what the protest was really about Want to marry someone of the same joined in, just because some of their sex? That’s your right. As long as it idols were doing it. Patriotic Amerifollows the law, we can do basically cans were furious and boycotted the anything we want to do: not many NFL, while those who agreed with other countries can say that. the players made claims of racism So now along comes an athlete (who against anyone who disagreed with shall remain nameless) who decides them. This has turned into one of that the flag is not a symbol of free- the most controversial subjects in dom, it is a symbol of racism and America today, with people lined up oppression. He decides that he will on both sides refusing to listen to the not respect the flag by standing and other. saluting it as the National Anthem plays, but will instead kneel in protest. This athlete, who was raised in an upper-middle class family by parents who adopted him despite the fact that his racial background was not the same as theirs, decides that he has been oppressed because of the color of his skin. And guess what? He got a lot of attention, after
This player and his followers have every right to protest; it’s protected by the First Amendment. I don’t think anyone would argue that. What many people are arguing is that by refusing to stand for the flag and the Anthem, these people are disrespecting what so many fought and died for. Thousands of people, including black Americans, have given their
lives so that these people can protest. If you’re willing to take American dollars, you could at least show some respect for the Americans who gave everything to keep you free. If these players truly cared about what was happening in their community, why didn’t they do something during the off-season? Taking a knee does nothing: go into the neighborhoods that are truly oppressed and talk to the kids there! Teach them that education and staying in school leads to success, that having six babies by six different partners does not make you a man, that cooperating with law enforcement greatly diminishes your chance of being injured or killed by an officer. Simple things that our society seems to have forgotten. Go to the local police station and ask what you can do to help ease the tension between the community and law enforcement. Then go to the V.A., or a Veteran’s Home, and talk to the men and women who were actually in battle, who were willing to give everything to protect our freedom. Talk to a Gold Star family, who lost someone so that people here have the right to protest whatever they feel like. Ask someone who has been handed that folded flag if they would take a knee. The players who truly believe in their protest have every right to do so; just as those who disagree with them have the right to express their opinions. I won’t boycott the NFL or stop wearing a certain brand of clothing just because of these players, but I won’t judge those who do. It’s all a matter of respect. If we all work together to respect each other, this will be a non-issue in no time. Until then, my flag will fly high, and I’ll stand up when I hear the National Anthem!