Free speech above all

I love America.

We all have choices to make, but the one undeniable truth of our earthly existence is that the choices one cannot make are where one is born and who one's parents are. So, through some random cosmic lottery, I am a U.S. citizen with all the accompanying rights.

To me, the most important is the First Amendment.

I have undying respect for all who serve and have served and will serve our country. Their sacrifices throughout the ages are legion.

Preamble is over. To stand or not to stand, to paraphrase Prince Hamlet, that is the question. The full scope of our national anthem and sports should be considered.

Although penned in 1814 it literally took an act of Congress 117 years later in 1931 to deem it so. As for sports, it wasn't until 1942 after our entry into World War II that it was routinely played before games.

As for the NFL, it wasn't until 2009 that players were requested to be on the field for the pomp and circumstance. Not coincidentally, that is when the Pentagon began paying the NFL for tributes, flyovers and other such fanfare.

If nothing else, the sacrifices of our military and the First Amendment have given us the liberty to act, albeit selfishly at times, in any manner we so choose.

Mark McCarter

Arlington Heights