I Stand.

I stand.  

I do.  I stand for every time the anthem is played.  And I sing along, even when the key is too high for me and I have to switch octaves causing me to do a pretty fair job of murdering the anthem.  I stand for the pledge.  My students stand for the pledge.  I put my hand over my heart and my other hand behind my back (from years of practice as a cheerleader on the sideline). I stand.

But I also respect everyone’s right not to.  Don’t get me wrong, I totally get both sides of this issue.  At first it made me angry to see people standing during the national anthem.  I have family and friends that have served and are serving. I have studied and taught history for years.  No one is more proud of this great country and the sacrifices our military has made for that flag and for our country.  But I get it. And I realized I didn't need to take it personally, I needed to look at the big picture.  

We can yell and scream at the violent looters and rioters that they can protest and protest peacefully and then yell and scream at the peaceful protestors too.  Or wait, do you just want protesting to go away?  That's what I heard yesterday, "I don't like any protesting. I wish the protesting would stop". Should everyone just be happy with the status quo?  Maybe that is what the real problem is.  Maybe you think Martin Luther King Jr’s dream has come to be reality.  You’d be wrong.  There are still horrible injustices going on for our minorities every single day.  And just the way we all talk about those who kneel and those of a different color proves it more than anything any minority has ever said to me personally.  I actually read someone on Facebook say, “I have friends who are black, obviously I’m not racist.”   For what it’s worth, having a friend who is black, doesn’t mean you aren’t a racist.

I came to a startling realization a few years ago.  There is a very real chance that I’m a racist or at the very least a bigot.  I work every single day to change that quality about myself.  There were jokes I said, lies I believed and policies I followed that I never even considered the consequences of.  I know that in my past I perpetuated the stereotype and did not challenge my childhood teachings enough.  I’m trying to change.  I’m trying to be the change.  I’m trying to make sure that my children do not grow up thinking as I did and that they look beyond the color of someone’s skin, someone’s gender, someone’s sexual preferences or someone’s religious beliefs.  I’m reading, I’m learning, I’m listening and I’m trying.  I hope to live in my future better than I was in my past.

I really struggle to explain myself when it comes to these hot button issues.  I can’t explain why I don’t feel that the movement to #takeaknee is a bad thing.  I can’t seem to find the words to discuss how I feel that any form of peaceful protest does not dishonor the flag or our country, but instead is the greatest honor a person can bestow upon their American heritage.  Protest and change is what our country is based on.  We are to be safe harbor for people to exercise their rights, all of their rights.  Not just the ones that give us warm fuzzies and make us proud.  Isn’t our country the one place where people are supposed to be allowed to say what’s on their mind without the fear of losing your job, losing your citizenship or being imprisoned?  If we don’t allow people to protest against the government without fear of losing their job, what’s next?  Not being allowed to speak our minds about the government?  Having to salute the president?  Wearing a pin to show your undying love for the emperor (I mean president)?  Where do you all draw the gray, smudged, blurry line in the sand?  This is okay way to exercise your freedom of speech, but that clearly is not.  

I would like to share the words of a man who said it so much better than I can.  I did not alter his words in any way, I also did not give his name as I am not sure how comfortable he is with me sharing this on my blog.  If he would like to be given credit - I hope he contacts me and I will surely include his name here.  Background is that this was his response to a meme posted about what taking a knee really means that showed a veteran missing his lower leg.  

My hat is off and my hand is on my heart every week at the games I attend, because I am proud to have grown up in this country. However, I do not worship the flag, and I do not worship this country, and I do not put patriotism ahead of the hard work that needs to be done to ensure racial equality in this country. When others want to peacefully protest, I will protect their right to do so, whether right wing, left wing, or center. The moment that we start to let the rights of others be trampled upon is the moment that we set ourselves up to have our own rights trampled on in the future. I have been silent on the national anthem issue, because of course people have the right to disagree with the protests. However, when our President called for people to be fired because he perceived them as being unpatriotic I had to draw the line. For a President to do that is much more disrespectful to our country, our flag, and to the soldiers that died to protect our rights than a peaceful protest during the anthem. I don’t like the false choice that is given, it is possible to be patriotic, support our flag and also support those who want to protest against inequality.

Thank you for saying the words that I find so difficult to find. I could not agree with you more!  I know we all want this to disappear off of our newsfeeds, and I apologize.  However, it was one of those things where I had to at least get my own thoughts down for my peace of mind.  As always, you don’t want to hear, feel free to click on by.