Scott Tibbs
Abolishing the national anthem
By Scott Tibbs, February 17, 2021
It is a sad situation when displays of patriotism and love of country are seen as "divisive" and are
slowly being eliminated from the culture. The reason the national anthem is played before sports games is to remind us of the greatness of our nation and instill patriotism. That used to be something almost everyone agreed on, in my lifetime. It is sad to see that is not the case any more.
The replies to
my Tweet are just sad and represent the state of American "education." People have been fed so much propaganda that they object to displays of patriotism and want to get rid of them. "America is not great," they say. "America is not the greatest country on earth," they say.
Well, then obviously there are better countries, and the people saying these things can feel free to move to one of them. None of them ever actually do that. I wonder why that is?
Have we had problems in the past? Sure. Has our nation committed abominable acts? Absolutely. But though the blood and hard work of millions of people, we ended slavery and then we ended segregation and Jim Crow laws. We elected a black President twice. We have expanded voting rights and property rights, and despite bad actors we do live under the rule of law, where our rights are protected.
Here are the facts: Our nation was founded on liberty, equality and individual rights. We implemented that imperfectly, but we have expanded that vision of liberty over time. It is absurd to judge our nation as founded by the standards of today, because the founding fathers' vision of individual rights was radical at the time. This is not to excuse the failures, but to put them in context.
There are many issues that we will never agree on in this country: Abortion, taxes, gun control, environmental regulations and many more. We ought to be able to agree that we live in a great nation and that our country holds great promise for all Americans as well as the blessings of liberty. When we cannot even agree on that - when a symbol of unity like the national anthem has become a culture war flashpoint - we have become far too divided. Reversing that starts with standing up to the censors and saying "no."
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