Our National Anthem is not a protest song. Nobody sings, “Oh say, can you see, someone taking a knee?” Why do people do the right kind of protests at the most God-awful wrong times? It’s like throwing mud in somebody’s face while people sing “Happy Birthday” to them; the problem still exists and now whomever you’re supposed to be celebrating has mud on their face.
Lately some noted sports figures, like football players Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid, and soccer star Megan Rapinoe, have determined that sitting down or going down on one knee symbolizes a problem in need of fixing. I have not seen any of them speaking up or actually putting a pro-active plan in action. When I had a problem needing a fix, I wrote down the arguments in favor of a suggestion for change and took it to the right people to have it done.
Let me brag about one of my works. The first time I attended a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the long-defunct Cherry Hill Cinema, the copy of the film was poor. The places where splices had been made were so well-known, the cast members under the screen and the patrons incorporated them into the audience participation. I put together a petition asking for a new copy of the movie, got the cast and every audience member in line to sign it, and presented it to the theater’s staff. We got a fresh copy.
That’s how you get results. Get on your knees once you have submitted your ideas for change, and pray for a positive outcome if you are a praying person. Don’t turn the expression of loyalty for the country that sent thousands of lives into premature graves for your freedom to speak into a display of disrespect or contempt.
Our country is not perfect, but show that you appreciate how far we have come to get there.
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