Vets preserved freedom - even to ‘take a knee'
This Veterans Day I will be in Tampa to watch the Buccaneers play the Washington Native Americans (a nod to the late sportswriter Jerry Greene).
I will stand for the national anthem like I always do. Maybe a player or players from either or both teams will take a knee to protest social injustice.
This once bothered me greatly, until I had a civil discourse with a friend of mine. He, a lifelong Democrat, and I, a Republican, never allow political alliances to affect our friendship. We have agreed to disagree more times than I can count.
During this debate, my friend countered one of my talking points with the oath that I took upon enlistment.
“I do solemnly swear that I will defend the Constitution of the United States…”
He had me right there, because what is the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Freedom of speech or freedom of expression, either way it is the right as an American citizen.
So today when “The StarSpangled Banner” is played, I will stand at attention with my hand over my heart. I might see some NFL players taking a knee, and, rather than get offended, I will think: There are some fellow Americans expressing themselves. Just as the freedoms afforded to us by this great nation allow, and preserved by the service of veterans past, present and future. God bless America. Steve Grice Winter Springs. He served in the U.S. Army from 1992-94 and was deployed to Somalia for Operation Continue Hope and Operation Restore Hope.