Patriotism vs. protest
I am offended when seeing overpaid sportspeople or anyone else refuse to stand and respect our flag during the playing of the national anthem. I also would be terrified if there should ever be any threat to the free assembly and the right to freely express our opinions which is so basic in this country.
Long ago it was said, "I do not agree with what you say but will defend with my life your right to say it." There is no right or wrong answer to President Trump's comments that those who do not stand during the national anthem should be fired. This is a dilemma and the resulting uproar from his unfortunate comments resulted in more anger, division, misunderstanding and arguments among people in this country.
We are a free nation, free to swing our arms as far as we want as long as it does not reach the other person's nose. We must protect that freedom.
President Trump should be uniting our people, and not tweeting and expressing casual views and opinions which do not belong in politics. He should give very careful thought to the impact that a president's words have on the nation and the world before he speaks.
We need a united Congress to work on tax reform, budget, spending, insurance, global warming, to name a few. Don't waste time on tweets and shrug off negative comments, which will always be forthcoming, please work and compromise to get legislation going forward in congress.
As Sen. Rand Paul said on Face the Nation, there are other and better ways to express our disapproval rather than to dishonor the flag. I believe that most of this backlash is to refute Trump's interference rather than showing disrespect for the flag of the greatest nation in history.
William McNutt
Des Plaines