The “Bum” Who Took a Knee to Avoid the Vietnam War
NOVANEWS
by REV. WILLIAM ALBERTS
Photo by H. Michael Karshis | CC BY 2.0
Soldiers don’t sacrifice their lives so that citizens will stand for the national anthem and the American flag. They sacrifice themselves so that citizens have the freedom to kneel in protest against governmental policies that cause unjust wars or other acts that harm American lives. The America flag and national anthem are supposed to be symbols of that precious Constitutional freedom, not turned into idolatrous objects of worship by politicians seeking to suppress that freedom by equating patriotism with their self-serving policies. Patriotism is about revering human rights, not worshipping a flag. It is about democratic principles that guide behavior, not a symbolic flag pin to brandish on one’s lape...