It distresses me to see people kneeling during the National Anthem with a fist raised. Why? These are are two powerful Marxist symbols combined to demonstrate servant-hood joined with violence. These two symbols also indicates that the person no longer has a spirit of hope, freedom and independence but have relegated their freedoms and choices to others and have chosen to be slaves of that ideology.
Just watch a movie and what does kneeling before a king, queen or villain connote? It means you have been defeated and ready for complete subjugation and obligation to the villain. That you are ready to unquestioningly serve and do their will. In movies and in real life, the bad guys are always insisting that the good guys bow before them and serve them band to blindly follow orders.
Likewise the symbol of a raised fist connotes that one is able, ready and willing to use violence and force to achieve their goals. They will use all means necessary to dominate and subject others to follow them or their leaders. The raised fist is not a symbol of peaceful persuasion, willingness to negotiate for mutual benefit but, of one of subjection and domination by force.
In contrast, being a true American means we do not kneel before some government, king or villain but we are ready to stand up for what we believe, right or wrong, even to the death. We are servants of no earthly power or person and this has been the proud heritage and the Right of all American people. We do not bow or kneel for anything, or anyone, except our Creator. We stand for what we believe is right and not what our government or any person tells us is right. We use our God given conscience and God given intellect to make our own decisions. We stand and we ” pledge our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor” (from the Declaration of Independence) to hold onto our beliefs in accordance to our own experiences and opinions. This is ultimately a God given right for each of us and it is not a privilege that has been granted by some benevolent bureaucrat. That is what it means to be a true American. We are not sheep to be controlled by others and so we stand either together or alone proudly acknowledging our rights, our choices and our equality with government.
Standing for the National Anthem or Pledge of Alliance is acknowledging that we are not mere pawns for the government but that we are willing and ready to stand with our government not as servants but equals to or owners of that government. I will not kneel in servant hood to my government.
We also stand in respect and to honor to those valiant individuals who came before us dedicating themselves even their lives, fortunes and honor for the freedoms of those they never knew. In standing it is an expression that we hope that someday we too can be judged worthy of their trust and sacrifice for not only their freedom but the freedoms of all peoples enslaved and forced to kneel under the brutality of others.
This is why I stand.