One
of the reasons it always felt good to be a vet was to see sporting events, with
their massive crowds, playing the Star Spangled Banner. Out of respect to the flag, and all of the
great things our country represents, everyone would rise to the National
Anthem, face the flag and place their hand over their hearts, as a singer would
try to reach all the notes of that dastardly song. Whether they hit all the notes or not, when
the song ended, an uproar from the crowd would erupt.
For
this veteran, that was all the appreciation I ever needed. It was an appreciation that was a tradition,
but one I never took for granted.
And
then along came a puny, insignificant little man with a cause.
I
despise puny, insignificant people with
causes.
In
2011, if memory serves correct, I got an email from a friend who asked for
prayers for her nephew. He had been hit
by an IED in Iraq and suffered burns over 80% of his body. He was on his way to the States for
treatment.
I
prayed.
I
thought about the “life” this boy was going to have. I know the insufferable pain he was going to
have to live with for the rest of his life.
His raw nerves exposed, everything was agonizing pain. To get washed, to feel the sheets drop
against his burned skin, even a gentle breeze would bring the most excruciating
of pain. I could see years of skin
grafts he would need to endure. After
years and years of pain, it might subside.
He would still have a family that loved him but any semblance of a
normal life was gone.
He
had sacrificed his life without dying.
I
cried.
Moments
later I turned on the television and there was a puny, insignificant woman with
a cause testifying before Congress. She
came from a wealthy family and went to an extremely expensive university in
Washington, D.C. She felt that no woman
in her dormitory should have to pay for birth control. That was her cause…birth control should be
free to college women. She was applauded
and praised by the media as if she was the Second Coming.
I
compared the bravery of my friend’s nephew and all of those soldiers and
veterans who had died, suffered and served with this pathetic, sniveling excuse
of an American woman whining on TV and being made a media hero all across the
country.
And,
I cried for hours.
Was
this what my friend’s nephew sacrificed his life for?
Over
the space of a few minutes. I had seen
the best and the bravest this country had to offer in pain and ruins, to the
attention of nobody. And, I had seen the
worst this country had to offer, someone who didn’t care about anything but her
cause and self-importance. A “giver”
would live a life of pain and suffering.
The “taker” would get her law degree and champion other insignificant
and selfish causes like her own. She
would no doubt become even more wealthy in the process. She risked
nothing. She showed no courage. Self-importance is not courage. Yet, to a misguided media she was the hero.
The
juxtaposition of the two at almost the same moment caused me so much pain. I knew he would leave the family emotionally
and financially drained with years of care and support.
The
thought crossed my mind was this a country even worth fighting for
anymore? Would I let my own son serve
this kind of country?
And
then this puny and insignificant man did one of the most horrible things a
person could do to a veteran. He sat
down at the National Anthem at a football game, for a cause he must think rises
in importance over all our nation stands for.
Then
he kneeled.
Thick-headed
members of the media painted this blockhead as courageous and his cause more
important than the country. This man
wouldn’t know courage if it slapped him in the face. Veterans know courage. But, with the media leading the way, other
players began to follow him kneeling in complete disrespect to our country and
all the veterans who ever served to keep our flag flying. With coaches all the way down to Pop Warner
football teaching children that disrespect of the flag was acceptable,
disrespect was becoming institutionalized.
And,
the tears began to flow again.
As
much as I have loved the game of football for the past 55 years, to ease the
pain, I have had to turn the games off.
Until the players who are participating in this assault against our flag
and country realize their cause has hurt more people than it will ever help,
the games will remain off. Until they
understand our country and veterans are worth spending one minute a week in reverent
respect, their cause won’t get one iota of attention from me and, I hope, you.
The
only way to appeal to the patriotism of these misguided players, with their
causes, is to turn off the game and not attend at the stadiums. The players shouldn’t have to be told to
stand at attention. When they see the
response of all those who are offended by their actions, those whom they have
hurt, I believe they will know to do the right thing. Their cause is going nowhere until they
do. The future of the NFL is at stake if
they don’t.
This
Veteran’s Day weekend, out of respect to all veterans, please turn off NFL
games. Please do not go to games, even
if you have tickets. You can make a
significant impact in just one week.
Those tickets you hold, you can look at in the future as a collector’s
item as the day when you stood up for America and made a difference.
I
feel like a puny person with a cause myself, but my cause is America
itself. It is worth fighting for.
That
is why I am a vet.
Wow! The most thought provoking and inspired thing I have read in a long time. God bless the military.
ReplyDeleteThank You, Chriss. I really appreciate your comment.
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