That means NFL Football!!!
Oh, here we go, in the "Land of the Free" we have people calling for the heads of those who are protesting by kneeling during the Anthem.
"They're so disrespectful!!", "Veterans died, don't you even care?"
I'm a vet, U.S. Army from 1987-1992. Desert Shield/Storm spent nearly 6 months in the Middle East liberating Kuwait, for our freedom. Yeah, does sound a little silly, doesn't it? I digress.
When I was in Saudi Arabia waiting on the "war" to start, my dad, a vet, was in a car wreck that ultimately ended his life. Luckily, my grandmother knew my commanders father, who happened to be a retired Colonel. He got in touch with his son and I was on my way back to the USA before Red Cross even called.
I was the one who was handed the flag from my fathers casket. The NFL players aren't disrespecting me, they don't even know me.
They most likely all know a person who, because of the color of his or her skin was accosted by a law enforcement advocate. They might know someone who because of the color of their skin actually do real jail time for simple possession of a plant. I don't think anyone can deny that people "of color" get a raw deal in the courts. If you do deny it, you've simply not paid attention.
So, our Anthem has a line in it...."The Home of the Free". Are we? Are we free? Try going to the airport and just walking to your gate to get onto your plane without being accosted by an agent of the state, who hasn't actually stopped anything, but have many members who've been caught stealing from travelers, caught "importing" drugs among other things.
The Pledge has a line in it...."Liberty and Justice for ALL". Do we have liberty and justice FOR ALL? Here is the definition for liberty if you simply "google" it.
the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views.
So, that's a liberty definition from a dictionary. My definition goes something like this: Liberty: Doing whatever it is that you want to do as long as it doesn't affect another person's liberty.
The FEDERAL government still says that you cannot smoke a joint in your living room or your backyard. The FEDERAL government still says that marijuana has no medicinal value, even though there is clearly evidence otherwise. The FEDERAL government, actually blackmails states into doing things like increasing the drinking age by holding hostage funds earmarked for the states. Our FEDERAL government advocates things like civil asset forfeiture, taking your assets without charges or conviction, if they merely THINK that the money/assets came from an illegal activity, like selling a plant product. They don't simply take the money from people that they think have sold drugs though. People have had their money taken because they are carrying money to buy a car, to enter a big poker tournament, because they don't trust banks(can you blame them). So, no, we're really NOT that free.
If you google freedom index you'll find that the USA isn't even in the top 10 in any freedom index. Isn't that crazy? The nation that most of us were told growing up that was the most free in the whole world is not in the top ten!!
So no, those who kneel aren't disrespecting me. They're not disrespecting you. They simply want their voices heard on issues that many of us who are slightly better off than those who they're advocating for. They're not saying that THEY are oppressed, they know that they're not, they also know though that because they're on a National stage that they can get more attention than 1000 people marching through the streets of Detroit.
Vets fought so that we can be free, but in MY lifetime, I was born in '69, I have been less free at the end of EVERY SINGLE PRESIDENCY than I was at the beginning of their term. I, for one, applaud these men for taking a stand for ALL OF OUR LIBERTY, JUSTICE and FREEDOM.
