YOUR VIEWS

Goodbye NFL

I would like to thank the athletes in the NFL for their protests during the national anthem as a reminder that free speech is still a basic right in the greatest country on earth, no matter how selfish and disrespectful the protests are to hundreds of thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives so we can exercise all of those freedoms we enjoy today. Anyone who doesn’t understand what our flag represents is badly in need of a history lesson. The flag and allegiance to it should be revered by all regardless of present struggles. Good for the NFL team owners, who pay millions of dollars to let their employees act as they want to while on the job. I also want to thank the athletes who choose to protest in this manner for reminding me I too have a choice on how to spend my time. I found out I have been much more productive and enjoying other things in life that are much more meaningful than just a game. Goodbye NFL.

David Galaway, Oklahoma City

Taking a knee

As a military veteran and law enforcement officer, I have decided to take a knee. I am taking a knee and praying for the commander in chief. I’m not praying that he negotiate peace between Israel and the Palestinians, or that he end nuclear proliferation. I’m not praying that he provide affordable health care to this country, or help restore the damage caused by the recent hurricanes. I’m praying that he becomes a decent human being. Amen.

Charlie Sheppard, Oklahoma City

It’s not helping

National anthem kneeling is doing nothing to help the cause it was supposedly intended to be about. It is an insidious divider of our country. It’s doing nothing to win people over to the cause of police shootings. No one is even talking about that anymore in the debate about kneeling. It is polarizing people to either equate their national anthem and flag with racism or by

showing offense and risk being labeled as racist or anti-free speech. At my shows, we play the national anthem to support our veterans. And I would find it extremely offensive if someone chose to appropriate that moment for any other purpose. There is nothing wrong with protest and believing in a cause. But if you choose to disrespect a moment held sacred by people of all races and backgrounds, you risk the backlash that is being seen!

Bobby Dobbs, Moore Dobbs is a boxing promoter.

Questioning poll results

I usually accept The Wall Street Journal’s research as reliable, but on Aug. 9, it published a poll that so blatantly contradicted several wellknown academic polls that I was taken aback. Then “Immediate moves on climate change not a priority for many” (Our Views, Sept. 19) cited the same poll. Time to review the data.

A 2016 study by Chicago Council on Global Affairs found strong bipartisan support (71 percent), Republicans (57 percent), Democrats (87 percent), and independents (68 percent) who said the U.S. should participate in the Paris Agreement. A study released March 2016 by Yale and George Mason University Center for Climate Change found a majority of Americans support U.S. reductions in greenhouse gas emissions regardless of other countries’ decisions.

Maybe the adage that “figures don’t lie, but liars can figure” is shown to be appropriate when looking at the WSJ/ NBC poll.

Mary Francis, Norman The Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey found 4 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of Democrats described themselves as “a supporter of taking immediate action to address climate change.”