Protest, issues and responses

Burning flags and draft cards, protests and demonstrations.

Disrespect? Or a call to the nation for change.         

Our military veterans have earned the respect of us all. In serving,
 they offer their lives to preserve the liberty and justice we so
cherish.  More than two million served in Vietnam.  They
served with courage and at great personal cost.  Then 
  and now, they deserve our deepest appreciation.
Those who sent us there, however, were
deceptive and unjustified in their
decisions.  They mislead us.

Protest is often disruptive. The war in Vietnam brought protests that included riots and flag burning, campus demonstrations and the death of innocents.  The protests were pointedly about the need for change.  Public response was divided much like today with many attacking the 'unpatriotic' voices.

We found it difficult to separate our loyalty to country from the issues being raised.  The Vietnam war felt like a choice we had all willingly made and that we needed to uphold, but it wasn't.

From a recent conversation,
"Today's uproar reminds me of the 60's and the response to anti-war protesters. It was becoming clear, the war was devastatingly wrong, based on misrepresentation and unethical decisions. Instead of hearing the message, however, many attacked the protesters. And some died, precious young lives ended.  

And then there were those fifty-eight thousand more who died on the battlefield, those hundreds of thousands injured, those thousands more who never got over the war, a million refugees, and the two million civilians who died.  

The protest was valid.  The truth behind the war was eventually acknowledged, but it's troubling and rarely discussed."

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Kaepernick and a few others take a knee in protest against modern discrimination, oppression, and death, whether at the hands of police or by prejudice and inequality, now entering its fourth generation.  It's a call to the nation for change.  

Public response today is divided with many attacking the 'unpatriotic' voices.  
The protest is valid.  The truth will perhaps eventually be acknowledged.

"Which is more troubling ...
- that a protester takes a knee during the anthem, or 
- that black teens have to be taught how to avoid being beaten or worse not if they get pulled over, but when."  

That's what the parents of black children do, did you know? (ref)(ref)(ref)(ref)(ref)

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Curious; read further.

Look up Jonny Gammage for a little insight into Kaepernick's concerns.  
Or Master Sergeant Rossano V. Gerald, or Philando Castile, or other examples.
See Harsh History for more on protest and reason.  
Or The Courage of Conviction.

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Our hope, perhaps, is that we would be a noble nation, understanding and slow to anger, not easily offended, not quick to judge or condemn, and wise in our decisions.  🤝