An Open Letter...

This is an Open Letter to the NFL, the NBA, NASCAR, MLB and all other professional sports franchises:

For whatever reason, fear most likely, you've all decided to roll over for "Black Lives Matter."  You've decided that your players should no longer be required to stand with their hands over their hearts when the National Anthem is played and the American Flag waves.  One would have thought such a requirement unnecessary.  

You would have thought so, but you would be wrong... 

Here's the deal; Even though you and your players may never have served in the Armed Forces of the United States, more than 22 million of your fellow Americans have.  And about 1.4 million are currently serving on active duty, which represents about 0.5% of our population.  Roughly 2 million women are U. S. military veterans, which is about 1.4% of our population.  But considering that 22 million number above, that means that some 7.3% of all the men and women in the United States have served our Great Country.

And that 7.3% had mothers, and fathers, and sons and daughters, and uncles and aunts and cousins.  And they had neighbors and co-workers and friends and customers and employees.  In short, the millions and millions who have served over the decades have had a significant influence over other members of our population.  Tens of millions, perhaps.  I would guess that 7.3% number could easily double when such influence is considered.  Influence over how they lived, and thought, and voted.  And I believe it could be comfortably stated that each of these patriots have saluted our Flag and reveled in our National Anthem.   

And I'm one of them. 

And to a man, and a woman, they all wrote a blank check to the People of the United States of America for an amount up to and including their lives.  They chose to serve this Great Country, usually for pay far less than they could have earned in other endeavors.  But they chose to serve America anyway, and all of its citizens, no matter their race, color, creed or national origin.  They served to try and keep us all safe from enemies foreign and domestic.  They served so that today's professional athletes could live and love and work in freedom.    

Freedom for which they paid not one single dime.  

And yet, despite all of this, despite owing a debt which can never be repaid, these athletes have chosen to endorse an organization dedicated to the overthrow of the United States.  To the destruction of the American family.  To the defeat of Israel.  To the end of ownership of private property.  To the end of capitalism.  And they have chosen to kneel when their Country's National Anthem plays and its Flag waves.  And in so doing they are broadcasting their disrespect for their Country far and wide, and for the men and women who have served it and its People with dedication.

And most especially for those who have died trying...  

And don't try to tell me that this show of contempt is for some other social justice rationale.  They could easily conduct such a display in the locker room before the game, or in the parking lot after the game, or in a local church at any other time besides during the playing of our Anthem.  It is the pure act of doing so which enrages and saddens the millions of veterans who have fought for the Country it symbolizes.  Choosing to kneel only when the Anthem is played is nothing less than giving Americans, and most particularly American veterans, the finger.  And don't think it goes unnoticed...

Professional sports is supposed to be a respite from the myriad demands of everyday life.  We sports enthusiasts are not looking to a basketball or baseball game, or a NASCAR race, for a sermon, or a life lesson, or to be condescended to by some multi-millionaire athlete.  And I dare say if you persist in this thoughtless action you've undertaken, you will all learn a hard lesson for yourselves...

Oh, by the way, if you owners chose to embrace "Black Lives Matters" out of fear, considering that 13.4% of the population is Black, consider that just about that same percentage are U. S. military veterans and their families and friends and those they influence.  

Hmmm.  You're afraid of the 13.4% of our population which is Black.  Perhaps your fear is misplaced...