Amongst all of the attention grabbing faux protests by millionaire athletes and celebrities, protests for which I am willing to bet they have no idea why they are doing it other than to ‘show unity’ with ‘something’, something they don’t fully understand, there comes the question of American values. What values do we as a nation hold and how do we honor them? If only the Founding Fathers had left us a clue what our country was all about… Oh wait, they did!
First off, let’s take a look at our nation. It is called a melting pot for a reason. Our population is the descendants of immigrants from around the world. Members of every race, religion, and belief system have come to our shores looking for the better life afforded by the freedoms our Constitution and Bill of Rights protect. It continues, as it has since the beginning, as more come to share in the American dream.
Of course, the American dream comes at a price. It was paid for with the blood of patriots, beginning with the Founding Fathers and continuing throughout our history with the men and women of our military forces. They have given their lives so that we can live free.
Our nation’s Bill of Rights stands alone in the world for the natural rights it protects. Remember, the Bill of Rights does not grant them; it merely protects those rights. Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and are therefore universal and inalienable, i.e., rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws. A point many of our current elitist politicians seem to have forgotten.
The fact that the framers of our nation made a point to call out these natural rights as what our nation was founded on is critical. They had just fought to free themselves from oppressive rulers and wanted to ensure it would never happen again. The protections they outline are for the individual – the people – NOT the government.
The two pieces of respect for American values currently under attack are the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.
The Pledge of Allegiance, first written in 1887, later revised in 1892 and first formally adopted by Congress in 1942. It was officially named the Pledge of Allegiance in 1945. The current version was adopted on Flag Day in 1954.
“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, written by a witness to the attack on our soil during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812, was signed into law as the national anthem of the United States of America by President Herbert Hoover on March 4, 1931.
“O! say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”
How those two pieces of respect for our nation can be interpreted to be anything but a representation of the values our nation was founded on is beyond me. They are a show of respect not only for the nation, but those who have fought, and continue to fight for the very freedom and rights we enjoy.
But then, we’ve all seen insanity on overtime lately as everything from fashion, art, books and memorials being selectively reinterpreted by any and everyone as offensive in some way, shape or form. Fortunately, we have the First Amendment protected right to free speech, and being a disrespectful fool falls into that category; so go nuts.
To all the petty, attention-grabbing people out there who are choosing to protest ‘something’ by not honoring the nation that provides you with the ability to protest and express your discontent in the first place; I ask you this. What the hell are you doing about the problem you think you are protesting for?
To the millionaire athletes and celebrities who can’t find the physical or emotional strength to stand during the National Anthem; have you put your money and influence where your knee is and helped others less fortunate than you? To the politicians, our elected public servants who took an oath to support and defend the Constitution as part of your entry into the position of trust you hold. Other than sitting on your ass during the Pledge of Allegiance, what have you done to help alleviate the issues you claim you are protesting for?
Here are some suggestions:
How about going into the communities you claim to represent and mentoring at risk youth? How about giving a helping hand to those who don’t have and never will have the advantages you were able to obtain in “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Maybe, just maybe, if you were to teach them what our National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance actually stand for, they too would help our nation achieve the values of “liberty and justice for all.” Maybe if you showed a little respect, they would too.
Bob
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Tag: #respect
Memorial Day 2021
Memorial Day is our nation’s time to pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. At least that is what it is supposed to be. However, these are not normal times. The American flag is considered by some to be offensive when flown on our own soil. Patriotism is seen as a threat to our republic. And worst of all, those who fought and died for our freedom are being dismissed and forgotten.
I do not share these views. In fact, I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of our nation still believe in our country and that those who perished to guarantee our freedom were heroes. Memorial Day is celebrated to recognize these men and women’s sacrifice and what it means to all of us. This is not the time for politics, it is a time for honor and remembrance.
The freedoms we enjoy as United States citizens came at a horrific cost, the blood, flesh, bone and souls of American service members. While they all gave their lives in service to their country, each of their lives were unique and valued. Each had their own family, friends and community that was forced to go on without them.
Our lost service members’ remains are buried in our national and state veterans cemeteries, and countless city, town and private cemeteries around our country. Many are interred on foreign soil, in the ocean or scattered to the winds. The final resting places of others are known only to God.
In 2000, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act. It encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. I ask you to please consider this in your own plans this Memorial Day.
In the end, the most important thing we can do is to not let these brave men and women’s sacrifice be in vain. We must continue to cherish and protect the rights, the freedom and the country given to us.
For all of us who live free for your service, we celebrate your memory, we honor your sacrifice, and we shall never forget.
Bob
#honor, #respect, #sacrifice, #memorialday, #memorialday2021, #oddstuffing.com
Memorial Day 2020
Memorial Day, the time for our nation to pay tribute to the members of our armed services who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.
In normal times, the federal three-day holiday weekend sees traditional observances in large cities and small towns alike with parades, bands and flags. Memorial Day also marks the unofficial beginning of summer and has become a time for sporting events, sales, picnics and barbeques with friends and family.
Of course, these are not normal times. The parades, bands and public memorials have all been cancelled. Sporting events, picnics and barbeques have also been cancelled or dramatically altered due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. However, no matter the change or the restrictions, it can never diminish our respect for the men and women who gave their lives for our country.
Growing up in a small town with parents who both served in the U.S. military, traditional Memorial Day observances are near and dear to my heart. Every year there was a parade, speeches and music in the park bandstand. At our local cemetery, like most others around the country, small American flags were planted in front of each veteran’s headstone. We were there every year to see the flags, read the names and remember.
If you have never visited any of our 134 national cemeteries or a state veteran’s cemetery, I encourage you to do so when you can. It is easy to not realize just how many of our men and women, our bothers and sisters, our fathers and mothers, our sons and daughters, have given their lives so we can live free. When you see the rows of headstones and flags, it begins to sink in what the cost of freedom really is.
In 2000, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act. It encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. Especially in this time of travel and gathering restrictions, I ask you to please consider this in your plans for Memorial Day.
For all of us who live free for your service, we celebrate your memory, we honor your sacrifice and we shall never forget.
Bob
#oddstuffing, #memorialday, #honor, #respect, #sacrifice, #memorialday2020