I've never been put off by athletes doing any form of protests. People forget or never read history but this country was founded on protests. It's in our DNA no matter what form it takes. As far as feeling uncomfortable because we simply want to watch football one purpose of protests is in fact to make people feel uncomfortable. Any form of protest is certainly not to make people feel all comfy. As far as the star spangled banner goes I've thought we should have picked a different song long ago. It was written by Key who, like many notables in the day, owned slaves and believed in slave ownership. That was simply a matter of the times. But unfortunately the song itself emboldens slavery. It's right there in the 3rd stanza-it just isn't part of what' we sing. As far as the flag goes I haven't seen it displayed over the field often. Nevertheless, it does represent something personal to me, having lost my dad in WW2, a Canadian citizen who did not need to enlist. I have the flag that President Rooselvelt sent my mother and it is folded an displayed next to a photo of my father in our home.
In many ways this country is like a marriage. It has its ups and its downs. There are times when it is beautiful and times when it is ugly. It has its own fights and quarrels. it is not "perfect" but, at bottom, is the fact that it is "ours" . In this light it is important to keep in mind the preamble to the Constitution "to form a more perfect union". To me that means the process is ongoing and part of that process is the uncomfortableness of having to be faced with some of our ugliness. No matter how uncomfortable it makes us we can't be like the proverbial ostriches who, when frightened, allegedly put their heads in the sand. That's not what this country was founded on.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2020 09:13AM by waterfield.
