I had never known about the third verse of the national anthem, so was very interested to actually read all the verses.
I always have a problem with people who say 'if you don't agree, then leave.' This wonderful union of ours is a work in progress and we are hopefully on a constant journey toward a more perfect union - should all of the women who wanted the vote have left before that amendment was passed, should all blacks have left before the civil war - most would have liked to in the south but they were property and could be shot and killed for 'running away'. Every politician in this country criticizes various aspects of our society and government on a daily basis, should they leave (probably would be an improvement for the rest of us!
) I would say our president, and the office of the president is a great symbol of our country, yet every president in history has been 'disrespected' by many, and our current president has suffered through more than most.
There was a time when the flag was 'sacrosanct' and various laws were in place that made it a crime to deface it, burn it, wear it, whatever - all of those laws were judged unconstitutional and while some are probably on the books, they are no longer enforced. Olympic athletes draping the flag over their sweaty shoulders would in times past be considered disrespectful but is now almost required behavior.
I too find the playing of the anthem before sporting events to be a little strange, but then when in England they play their anthem before movies and other performances, though british visitors always comment on how many flags are flying in the USA.
The truth is, we have a long history of discrimination against various segments of our population, and we have tended to lag behind many other countries in correcting that discrimination, as we do today in many areas.
I do not think either Colin or Megan are trying to become spokespeople for either people of color or the LGBTQ community, but they are using what fame they have to bring attention to issues that exist for both communities. There has been a long history of sports figures doing so.
I found a couple of on-line commentary points quite interesting:
1. The black power protest at the Olympics 48 years ago raised a huge stir, but at no time did anyone mention that it was 'disrespectful to the military' - but then we had the draft, half the country was against the war, including a significant portion of the soldiers themselves.
2. Gabby Douglas, who stood respectfully during the national anthem on the medal stand had to apologize for not having her hand over her heart, while various other USA athletes were joking around during the medal ceremony and no one said a word. Double standard?
3. The fact that people were making a point of burning Colin's jerseys, but no one burned a Ray Rice jersey, or a jersey of Aaron Hernandez, or for any of the other sports heroes who have committed significant crimes is telling.
4. The local police are providing extra protection for Brock Turner the convicted rapist now that he is out of prison, at the same time that another police union is threatening to cancel their contract with the 49ers is a pretty interesting juxtaposition. (I wonder how many other convicted rapists get special security when they get out of prison? and at taxpayers expense!)
