I’ll tell you are little story about so called true patriotic people , waving the flag for truth and justice . My father had been a f union organizer during the 1930’S he was on many picket lines in the country and had been beaten and arrested by many so called special deputized police who were just strike breaking thugs , he also went to Spain to fight against Franco and his German Allies , when ww2 broke out he joined the army and parachuted into Normandy with the 101ST airborne when he came back he was with the national union , he was thrown out of his position during the McCarthy hearings and branded a communist by a bunch of flag waving patriots , he’s was never a communists but he did welcome there help in the 30’s ,my father was never bitter about it for himself he still had his iron working card but he was angry at all the people whose lives were ruined by the defense of so called freedom , I see some of the same things happening now if your not with us your a bad American that’s helping to ruin America.I say the same thing to all the patriots who claim America is being destroyed by people who don’t love America that was said to McCarthy I remember what Joseph Welch said when Joe attacked one of Welches young attorneys as a communist there’s a long version but , you have done enough sir , have you no sense of decency , so yes I do get upset when people use the flag to divide us into for or against , I’ve been in wars , rebellions, , civil wars and covert wars all over the world for most of 40 years I don’t see black and white I see grey not everyone is right or wrong

I don't waste time counting and rereading posts. What was the point of the OP of bringing up the song in the first place if it wasn't about that? Why mention the song?

Finish the line, "young Skywalker! Release your anger and turn to the dark side." Or something like that.

That's kinda the point. And the reason we don't kneel during our mortal lives. We'll kneel when we meet god.

Agreed, don't "require", however, ALL societies, civilized to undeveloped have symbols of their CULTURE. The USA has many such symbols. It does not appear that most posts on this site are refuting that symbols exist at all, or that freedom does exist outside "symbols". Seems a circular argument to me ? A more valuable discussion, and more interesting, might be how various people define and understand "freedom" and "tyranny". Not sure many schools even concentrate on the importance of making sure future adult citizens thoroughly understand those terms at all, and from the comments I see in other on line posting sites, many do not realize the why it is more important to allow others to speak freely their opinions, even if shockingly bigoted, than to attempt to silence all opposition. READ history, it has never worked, never. Only appears to do so for a limited time, but not ultimately.

😊 If you say so.

I show my patriotism when I vote. I vote whenever I'm eligible to do so. I exercise my responsibility as a patriotic American citizen, by casting a ballot. And I proudly display the "I voted" sticker on my golf cart, my car, or the back of my cell phone (depending on if the old one needs replacing).

I even have one on my printer.

I am not a yahoo patriot. Patriotism doesn't need to be demanded, required, obligated. It's not a debt owed that must be paid. You either love your country or you don't. You can love your country and still be critical of it. As seen in this thread. Many of us have criticisms of our government, the decisions made on our behalf, on our own neighbors' decisions - that doesn't mean we don't love our country. And - all those people who complain about US - the ones who have these criticisms - well you're complaining about US citizens who exercise their right and duty to vote - one of the most sacred rituals we have available to use to demonstrate our patriotism.

How patriotic are YOU (editorial you not you, Tvflguy), to criticize us? The same thing you say to us (if you don't like it, you can always leave the country) applies to you. That's what freedom is all about. You can stay, you can go. You can criticize, you can compliment. You can stand, you can sit. You can recite, you can refrain. These are the freedoms our veterans fought for. I personally am grateful for these freedoms and the ability to actually exercise them, and not feel shamed into doing anything else.

So well said. If you check various "comments" on other on line forums, like various villages on line news papers...not the articles themselves, but the "comments", it is VERY clear a frightening percentage of people have NO idea what the Bill of Rights even is, no idea of what the U.S. Constitution even is, can not tell you what form of government we even have, can not explain the differences in a democracy and a democratic republic, can not tell you the difference in fascism (a term throw around recklessly these days), communism, and socialism, and can't give you a an alternative to capitalism as a viable financial system. That SHOULD frighten people of all political parties, but it doesn't. We are making a HUGE mistake dropping the emphasis on civics education and history, a huge mistake dropping our emphasis on mandatory education in our country, and a huge mistake by allowing our literacy rate to continue to decline. Call me chicken little, but this is not a winning trend.

Right! And I wouldn’t stand for the “black national anthem” either. These are just agenda-driven songs that seek to further divide us.

I'm a vet and I don't stand for the pledge. And I dispise the insipid Lee Greenwood song, always did.

I'll only stand for National Anthem. If in a foreign country I'll stand for their anthem if th locals stand.

US has an all-volunteer military... for now. Wait 'til the usual suspects start a war with China, (over what exactly?) Who is willing to die for LGBTQ+ and Taiwan?

BTW, the US & NATO are losing badly in the ukraine. Do not believe US/UK propaganda. And some want a 3-front war with Iran & China. It will not go well.

Correct, until they run out of OTHER PEOPLE'S money

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOWKmCxyh_8

Maybe this link will give you a better understanding of adding “under God”

The fiddle player from the Greg Warren Band played the National Anthem during his solo last week at Brownwood and everybody stood, as they should have.

Once again... It's not about the song!

Honestly, does anyone bother to read the threads anymore?

It's not about "counting posts"... I was directing you to the actual post where he clarified what he was talking about. Every post has a # by it, identifying it's place in the thread...

Why mention the song? I don't know, maybe to paint a picture about what was going on that night... You know, "A little girl led the crowd in saying the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a Lee Greenwood song"...

This isn't rocket surgery...