The national anthum

[39mto39g]

Ive notices that during the playing of the national anthum most of the people are standing around talking, eating or doing something other than having there attention on the flag. Maybe Im wrong but isn't it supposed to be that the military come to attention and salute the flag and civiliand place there right hand over there heart. This doesn't seem like a very hard thing to do but maybe it is.
The guys that landed on Omaha beach might have a different opinion on what is hard, "Colonel George Taylor: Commander of the 16th. Infantry was quoted as saying "Two kinds of people are staying on this beach, the dead and those who are about to die"
Or maybe the guys at Utah beach might think that right hand over the heart is a hard thing,,,"U.S. Soldiers of the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, move out over the seawall on "Utah" Beach, after coming ashore"
Or maybe the Marines that landed on Okinawa---
"38,000 Americans wounded and 12,000 killed or missing, more than 107,000 Japanese and Okinawan conscripts killed"
Or maybe the Army air corps might think that right hand over the heart is hard, when compaired to flying a B-29 over Berling in daylight with no fighter escort. Or our Navy, there are so many operations I can't pick one.
Putting your right hand over your heart for 2 min. is really to hard.
Yea right
Ron

[Bill Farnie]

You are right Ron ?. Just go to any event where the Star Spangled Banner is played/sung and you will see dozens and dozens of people having a complete disregard for it.
Another thing I can?t stand is all these so called singers who just have to do their own rendition of it. The National Anthem is a very difficult song to sing, but when done correctly it is beautiful. I can?t stand the way it gets butchered just about every time and everywhere it?s performed. I actually turn the sound down until the jerk finishes it. That?s how much it bothers me.

[chilidog]

You're certainly right Ron, most people today haven't ever had to really pay for anything important. It's that "easy come-easy go" attitude.

Chilidog

[MORTARDUDE]

I can honestly say, that here in the Memphis area, during all the sports events that I have attended, there has been little, if any, disrespect during the National Anthem.

Larry

[Packo]

Respect for our country and it's flag are learned at home and used to be learned in school. The "baby boomers" have proved many times that they do not respect this country and our government schools for sure don't teach patriotism any more. It's a bad word. So....that leads to the kind of things we see today. I will say that in the South there seems to be more participation in our National Anthem but overall.....respect for a bunch of things in this country went down the tubes when our generation became adults and parents. It is getting worse.

Pack

I don't see how you can say that Paco, If anything I think there is a lot of patriotism in our country. I see more and more veterans wearing some type of clothing that idnicates they are vets. I for one have been approached by people from our generation who didn't support the war in Nam, but have now said, We should have relaized that it wasn't the people in the military who caused the war, and I want to thank you for serving. Maybe it's 30 years later, but people are starting to have a more positive outlook on vietnam vets, and other vets. There are protesters we saw that yesterday on the news. Here in CA you do see a lot of hemming and hawing at events were the National Anthem is played. At the air show here yesterday in Sacramento, there were 50,000 people who went to see the Blue Angles fly, and they vistided the many other military exhibits that were at old Mather AFB ( now closed down). I got to thank a National Guardsman for serving in Iraq. He seemed to think that we vietnam vets had it worse then they did. Where he gets that from I don't know. Combat is combat, just different locations that's all.

[39mto39g]

That in professional sports , its up to the team owner to tell evryone what to do when the Nation Anthum is played, lead by example.
In schools its up to the principle to ste the example.
When you see players talking to each other or drinking with there hat on or not even standing, thats the owners fault.
Ron

[exlrrp]

Originally posted by Paco Respect for our country and it's flag are learned at home and used to be learned in school. The "baby boomers" have proved many times that they do not respect this country and our government schools for sure don't teach patriotism any more. It's a bad word. So....that leads to the kind of things we see today. I will say that in the South there seems to be more participation in our National Anthem but overall.....respect for a bunch of things in this country went down the tubes when our generation became adults and parents. It is getting worse.

Pack

Pack
I have to agree with you to a certain extent, I think culture has gone downhill since our generation came into its own.A definite coarsening of society. very self indulgent--just look at the ads: "Just Do It!!" So much for impulse control and respect for others.
Our generation was the one that sanctified rebellion against authority--what do we expect?
I think we're more the Peter Pan generation than anything else, refusal to grow up.
Stay good
James

[Packo]

Thanks James and your right about the Peter Pan generation. It was always an honor in my school to hold the flag while we did our pledge of alligence. If whoever got picked dropped the flag or let it touch the ground, we all lost our right to recess that day. I see the flag dropping in many aspects in this country today and I only hope we don't lose more than our right to recess. I also remember when parents sacrificed and waited until kids were gone and on their own before owning things like Cadillacs, going to the Bahama's, Vegas, joining golf clubs etc. (except for rich people that could afford all that anyway) Now, I see young couples trying to have everything and young children at the same time and wondering why they are in such financial straits and both parents having to work just to pay for all the extra's they have. You are again right with all the advertising that says basically, have it NOW! My father would have loved to play golf every weekend when he was young but instead spent the time with his sons taking us places to learn history, i.e. WBTS battlefields, etc., playing ball with us, teaching us boxing, or just playing games with us inside if it was raining.

Bob, what your seeing is people like us who aren't leary anymore of being Vietnam Vets and a bunch of our generation who have guilt over the way they treated us. If WE, as Vietnam Vets, hadn't built our OWN memorial and put on our OWN welcome home parades, I can guarantee our generation would have NEVER done it. It is US who wait at certain airports welcoming home Iraqi veterans, and it is more than likely US who are teaching people respect for things like the flag and the star spangled banner.....not our non-veteran peers. Our generation was too busy trying to be friends with their kids then parents.

Pack