I decided to start a new thread rather than leave this in the NFL thread.

The question behind all this controversy about standing for the national anthem, and for which there is no one clear cut answer, is, "What the does the Flag represent?" Is it only the good, or does it also represent some of the bad in our country?

Here's a list of some of my ideas of what the flag represents to different people.

The positives:
Freedom from a dictatorial government.
Freedom to worship as we want.
Freedom to speak as we want.
Opportunity to climb as high in the economic world as we are able.
Freedom to marry whomever we want (in the traditional sense).
Freedom to form a long term loving relationship with whomever we want.
You can add many other items to this list.

The negatives:
Corporate moguls free to pay however little they can get away with even if it's so little a family cannot live on it.
Insurance companies free to discriminate in how they provide insurance.
Police forces who are often unrestrained in enforcing peace and safety.
A military that often destroys indiscriminately in an effort to subdue a real or perceived enemy.
Banks that are free to charge onerous interest rates and fees upon selected customers.
Food industry leaders who are free to inject all sorts of chemicals into our food products.
A government run by politicians bought and paid for by the super rich.
And on and on.

What I am wanting to get across is that the flag represents many different things to many different people. More than likely most of us focus on those aspects of American life that we agree with or enjoy, as being what the flag represents. Aspects of American life that others see as oppressive are seen by them as being represented by the flag. There are many ways to protest, but some believe the most effective way to make their displeasure clear to Americans as whole, and to our Government specifically, is to show disrespect to the flag. One of most intense times of protesting our Government's actions was during the Viet Nam War. As you all know, much of that protest was in the form of burning the American Flag. Subsequently the US Supreme Court upheld the citizens right to burn the flag as a legitimate expression of free speech. Many, many, Americans vehemently decried that action, just like now with the NFL situation.

If you see the flag in terms of being a symbol of our freedom from tyranny and freedom to live as we want, you will naturally see the protests as attacking those values. If you see the flag as representing the wanton forceful suppression of a minority, and you understand that viewpoint, then the protests are justified.

As with all things in life, THERE ARE NO EASY ANSWERS! Both sides are right, both sides are wrong.

Peace, and may God Bless America, warts and all!