To the editor,
I'm not a football fan and don't watch the games at all. However, I've made an almost amusing observation about the whole thing.
Many say the national anthem protest is free speech. Many others find it offensive and disrespectful. During my 20 years of Naval service, I was compelled to surrender part of my freedom of speech, so I know firsthand what a precious liberty that is.
What really strikes me is the fact the whole purpose of the protests are to spark discussion about police brutality and injustice toward minorities. I hear little or nothing of that. Rather, the big discussion and debate are about the players and their behavior.
The United States is far from perfect. Americans in general are constantly trying to make things better and right wrongs. It's a never-ending process for many reasons.
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Police brutality and social injustice toward minorities are very worthy subjects to be protesting against. However, when we are asked to stand for presentation of the colors and the national anthem, perhaps the reason is not because of who we are and where we're at, but because we believe in the ideals the flag stands for. And, looking back to our nation's founding, don't those ideals constantly evolve to meet the changing times?
One thing I learned from the Navy is that respect is a two-way street. In my humble opinion, far too many people have either forgotten or don't realize that today.
Scott P. Olson
Grand Forks
