The American Flag has been in the media a lot recently with athletes like Colin Kaepernick and Megan Rapinoe (among others) choosing to not stand during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner at their sporting events. I understand that in today’s world people are always trying to make a statement, trying to get people to see things from their perspective. People have rights and they are free to exercise them as they choose, however, I don’t think that “boycotting” our national anthem is the way to go.
In my opinion, the playing of the Star Spangled Banner and the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance are a form of respect.
Respect for the men and women who have risked or given their lives to let our flag fly so proudly. Some of these people can no longer rise for the Star Spangled banner, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, or put their right hand over their heart. Just because you have the right not to do these things, doesn’t mean you should.
I recently sat down with United States Marine Corps veteran David Pesch. I listened to him speak about his career in the military and it is quite clear that he takes a lot of pride in our country. In his 20 year career with the USMC, he has traveled all over the world and has walked the streets of some very war torn countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. He emphasizes that despite the fact that he is an American, the country we live in is by far the best in the world. The way other countries are living and the limited freedoms they have to live with do not compare to the abundance of freedoms we are afforded in the United States.
Why boycott the one thing that unites us? The one thing all Americans have in common is that we are Americans. Other than that, we are all very different. That is what makes America great and unique: our diversity and the freedoms we have to express ourselves and speak our minds. Whether that diversity be religion, political stance, etc., we are very fortunate to be able to disagree with someone. There are plenty of other countries whose citizens don’t have half the rights that we have.
The purpose of me writing this wasn’t to heckle the people who are exercising their right to not stand during our national anthem, but to urge them to take a second look at what they are doing from a different perspective. Some people may argue that it is “just a piece of cloth,” but to to others it means so much more. It is something they take pride in and have a lot of respect for. With this being said, next time the national anthem is played, please stand proudly and concentrate on the men and women who fought so hard for our freedoms.
God bless.

I personally, do not say the pledge of allegiance.
*audience gasp*
Can you even believe it? I know the five-year-old me who learned the pledge wouldn’t have. For some reason I feel like it was implied early on that to not say it was against the law. I didn’t know what I was saying, but gosh darn it, I was not going to go to kid jail. And therein lies my first problem with our culture of overly patriotic rituals- I was a five-year-old kid, with my hand on my heart reciting a promise to my country that I couldn’t even understand. That’s like signing a contract you haven’t read, plus also you can’t read.
That being said, I do stand for the flag. I do believe this country can work and support its efforts to do so, but at the same time, I understand why some people don’t. You aren’t required to like this country if you live in it, and some people don’t. It seems like we’re all ready to jump down the throats of anyone who doesn’t stand for the pledge, doesn’t mouth along to the words of the national anthem, doesn’t pledge themselves to our country before an audience, which is interesting because it literally does not hurt you one bit to not be upset about it. The fact that they are exercising their right to free will has no impact on our lives at all.
Really, none of that is even that big of a deal. We get upset with an athlete who cares, but the thing is, we even try to apply our customs on other countries. There were Americans who couldn’t just stay in their lane last summer, that started a twitter rampage on a Spanish Olympian who didn’t sing along to his national anthem, and here’s the kicker, the Spanish national anthem, Marcha Real, doesn’t have any lyrics. Congrats, you played yourself.