Millikin University football player, Connor Brewer, decided to stand alone. Before their game, all of Brewer’s teammates made a pact to stay in the locker room during the national anthem until kick off. Brewer was the only one that disagreed with this pact. While the rest of his team stayed in the locker room, he walked out on the field and stood at attention. He made the choice to honor our flag, despite the fact that he was alone. This is responsibility. Elbert Hubbard was an American writer, publisher, philosopher, and artist in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, he once said “Responsibility is the price of freedom.” The more freedoms in our lives, the greater obligations we have. As an American my responsibilities include being helpful, respectful, and exercising my to freedoms to benefit our nation. One of my obligations as an American is to exercise my freedoms to benefit our country. One example of how I can accomplish this would be, standing up for kids that are being bullied or picked on. This is not always easy to do since most of …show more content…
As I alluded to in my introduction, it is becoming more and more common to not stand at attention during the pledge or anthem. America has never been, nor never will be perfect, but the flag stands for all that we were founded upon and everything we strive to be. When you dishonor the flag you are dishonoring the ideals our country stands for, and the men and women that fought for those ideals. Joe Barton is a Republican politician that has represented Texas’s sixths congressional district in the U.S. house of representatives since 1985. He said “Our flag honors those who have fought to protect it, and is a reminder of the sacrifice of our nation’s founders and heroes. As the ultimate icon of America's Storied history, the stars and stripes represent the very best of this
First, pledging the flag should be required because it teaches young people respect. Lately respect has not been enforced with teenagers. Parents are letting kids get by with anything they want it is really sad. As the saying goes, “ Respect can take you where money can’t.” Pete Warner says, when one does not support pledging the flag does not mean they are not devoted to the country. It is true however, when teenagers are told to stand for the pledge of allegiance by teachers and do not cooperate they are not just disrespecting the teacher, but also, the many men and women who constantly put their lives in jeopardy for the safety of the country. According to Jere Longman from
The pledge of allegiance and “Star Spangled Banner” are examples of compulsive patriotism in America that not everyone sees. The Pledge of Allegiance and the “Star-Spangled Banner” are orthodoxes Americans have recited for many years since the 1800s. The pledge of allegiance was practiced everyday in the beginning of class, starting at kindergarten, having all the students and teachers participate. I do not call to mind ever learning about what the pledge signified or meant. Never did I ask myself why we said this pledge of allegiance every single day, it was just a mandatory order of each day. The “Star Spangled Banner” is the national anthem that is recited before sport’s events, like football games, and also at official government procedures. Both are traditions in America that show pride for their country, it’s freedom, and history.
The anonymous writer uses ethos in this article to have well known figures opinions on the issue addressed.President Obama expressed concern that “not standing for the National anthem can get in the way of the message.” The author chose a well known figure such as Obama,because his opinion is one that people will take into consideration on the fact that even our past president doesn't fully agree on the issue.”As a general matter,when it comes to the flag the National Anthem and the meaning that holds for our men and women in uniform and those who've fought for us-that is a tough thing for them to get past to then hear what his
For years American citizens have held respect for something important to veterans all over America, known as the Pledge of Allegiance. The pledge of allegiance is a solemn oath of loyalty to the US, declaimed as part of flag-saluting ceremonies. It’s tradition to stand during the allegiance, and place your right hand over your heart. Doing so, shows respect to America, and to the veterans who fought for our freedom. Recently, individuals have been speaking out as to why you shouldn’t be forced to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance.
Americans have been standing for the National Anthem since 1891. This tradition started in the military, before The Star Spangled Banner became the National Anthem. Players in the NFL weren’t always required to stand on the sideline for the Anthem; it became a regular occurrence for players and teams to stand in 2009. Recently, many teams and players in the NFL have disrespected the flag and the unity within the country that is portrayed in the song. They do this by kneeling, sitting, and not coming out of the locker room during the playing of the National Anthem. All American citizens should always stand for the National Anthem, in respect for the flag and for the men and women who fought for the freedom we have.
The ground is not constant in every part of the world. Grass, sand, dirt, rocks, and everything in between is always changing underneath our feet. The sky is always shifting when new shapes and colors pass above our heads as we carry out our lives. It is baffling to think that people surrounded in a world of change believe it is possible to stick to one way of living. The belief in following a tradition can come from multiple ideals. The United States has an abundance of these traditions, and sometimes it is hard to notice when you are within one. The Star Spangled Banner is a prime example of a long-standing tradition in the United States, where it is usually played before national sporting events. Americans believe that the national anthem represents the greatness of America, and some believe that it honors our fallen soldiers and military. It is traditional to stand with our hands on our hearts, facing the flag while the anthem plays. The recent phenomenon of NFL players kneeling at the national anthem is a call to attention for the victims affected by racial inequality and police brutality within our country. Interestingly, NFL players weren’t required to be on the field during the anthem until 2009. Regardless, this show of taking a knee seems to many as a menace to their tradition. Some people were thoroughly opposed to these protests, including our own country’s leader. The president of the United States calling these gestures a “total disrespect of our
“ The American flag remains a living piece of history and a source of pride and unity for all Americans. The Stars and Stripes embodies the very qualities that make our nation great: liberty, justice, freedom, love of country and national purpose.” and once again just stated here this shows how important the flag means to every single American citizen in every form of our first
“Pledge Allegiance to our Flag” were all saying this words everyday in our lives. Our parents teaching us to say “Pledge Allegiance to our Flag” until we knew how to speak, we growing up become toddler, kid, teen and adult we all know this important words.
“I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag.. “, that is what I am reminded of when seeing the American flag. Standing up along with my fellow classmates gave me a sense of having a common bond with others even if each student came from a different background. Even as a young child, I felt the pull of what stating the Pledge of Allegiance meant to me and what looking up at the flag evoked from me. Patriotism and an impression of pride from living in this country. The American flag is saluted, people pray alongside it, and grieve when someone who fought for this country has fallen. Having pride in the flag helps the country remember what it means to be an American. The flag, also known as it’s nickname, Old Glory, stands for what this country was built on;freedom. To desecrate the symbol of pride and being an American may be a
Steve Siebold states, “Of course you are allowed freedom of speech in this country, but don’t disrespect your national anthem and everything it stands for. That’s shameful. Don’t disrespect your fans and employer…You can have freedom of speech without disrespecting the Star-Spangled Banner.” (Siebold, 2016, para. 7). In reality, it is of the opinion that this reasoning brings to light that there are indeed alternatives to the type of protesting and that it does not necessarily mean it has to be done at the expense of the national anthem. Since freedom of speech exists it can be done on a different platform. This reasoning, however, could have been stronger if the author provided exactly what it is the national anthem does stand for instead of just an implication of everything. Yet, in some ways this can be viewed as a red herring fallacy, as it does not stick to the facts of how it is wrong, but diverts to doing it somewhere
For many years, students have stood together, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance while placing their hands over their hearts, showing pride for their freedoms. Before sporting events such as baseball, football, and rodeos the National Anthem plays and again, people stand in admiration of the flag. It is not a law, it is not enforced, it is how people show their respect for the troops oversees and honor all of those who served in the most powerful country in the
Every father. Every mother. Every brother. Every grandfather. Every single person who dedicated their lives to fight for the rights of Americans is disrespected and their sacrifice is belittled when someone treats the flag with a lack of reverence and honor. Through social media, I have seen different forms of disrespect that Americans have given to the American flag. People have stepped on and walked across the American flag. People have burned the American flag. People have used the American flag as toilet paper. People have placed other flags above the American flag on a flagpole. Individuals may be mad. They might be angry about the current government or the society. However,they do not have the right to disrespect any person who has served protecting that right to be angry, that right to say what they want. The people who are disrespecting the flag are Americans who were born and raised in the United States. So be mad. But do not disrespect the American flag that my grandfather, my uncle, and thousands and thousands of men and women fought to
The Star - Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key as he watched his fellow Americans stand strong in their darkest hour. For over twenty four hours Fort McHenry was bombarded by British Navy, but the American troops fought, and so did their families. The Americans rallied around the singular flag that stood high in the fort, and a flag that was a target for the British armada. They planned to destroy the flag to disrupt moral, but the Americans refused to let it fall. They used that singular flag as motivation, and motivation that eventually won them the battle. The flag still holds the same purpose today. To remember those who have fought, or are currently fighting in our armies. It also serves as a source of pride, motivation, and patriotism towards our country. Knowing what our flag means to our history and our country, we can’t possibly keep letting our countries source of pride be disrespected by those attempting to promote their own cause. Are nations athletes that choose to display their displeasure with our nation’s current state, and disrespect what our flag means for our country.
My responsibility in america is to respect each and every veeran that has fought for america's freedom. When I hear the national anthem come on i do my part to stand and recognize all the people who have risked their life for me.
There are many ways individuals show pride for the United States of America, one of which includes pledging themselves to the American flag. The Pledge of Allegiance was made for the purpose of showing the alliance a person has to the US, but some people have chosen to refute this statement. Most others choose to argue that this is incorrect because of the disrespect that is occurring when people don’t stand in regards to the fallen soldiers and those that fight for this country. However, it is clear to see that those individuals shouldn’t be forced to stand for the Pledge because this is impeding on those certain people’s belief systems and therefore intrudes on the First Amendment.