I get to stand for the anthem a lot. I mean a lot a lot. Between my ball games, my kid's ball games, and family ball games, I might stand for the national anthem up to 2 or 3 times a week for four months during basketball season. I even have a favorite spot to stare at on the flag. It's the star closest to the middle of the whole flag. I have a favorite anthem. It's the gospel rendition by the Gaither Vocal Band. I play it at all of the games that I work. Give it a listen.
When I stand for the anthem I might notice those not standing, but it does not bother me. I can't speak for or judge people's relationship with our nation. I definitely understand mine. The flag is a symbol that means different things to different people. When I stand for the flag I see a continuum that seems to be open-ended. The stripes represent our thirteen colonies and the stars represent our fifty states. When you look at this as a storyline, our journey between these places in time, a lot is being said here.
From our beginnings as colonies to now, our nation has seen many ups and downs. Despite this, we continue on. The framers of the constitution designed this experiment to never be finished. Our country is designed to endure and regardless of how ugly our history has been, we move the needle in the pursuit of happiness. I know that the needle moves differently for some, but it does move. I stand in respect to recognize our nation's pursuit but also I'm aware that our nation is not perfect. This nation is mine and I will chase perfection with her. That is why I stand.
I know that people really get upset about this and those reasons are not lost on me. One might say a service member fought and died for the flag and you should stand for it. That is a fair statement. A veteran might tell you that he/she fought so you have the freedom to not stand, and that's also a fair statement. Either way, standing or not standing is dependent upon your relationship with your country. If you feel connected, you will stand. If you feel disenfranchised, you might not.
Because I understand my relationship with my country, you can stand or sit during the anthem. I really don't care. If given the task of convincing people to stand if they don't, I would simply say that you should stand. Stand as a cheerleader for our nation in her chase to form a more perfect union, the pursuit of happiness and to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. This is what the founders were chasing and they left it to us to finish the chase.
