They Fought For Our Flag

I just heard President Trump, at a press conference, tell the world that he had visited Walter Reed hospital and saw some of the wounded troops.

He explained that soldiers have fought and died for our country and for our flag and for our national anthem, and that any football player who refuses to stand at attention should lose their job.

Well, he may have a point. Now you and I may think that a flag is not worth fighting for, that it is only a piece of colored cloth. Or that a song is not worth defending with our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

Well, the Yalies and the Harvard folks have battled for generations over whether Bright College Years is better than Fair Harvard. And, there are arguments to be made over whether America the Beautiful is a better national anthem than God Bless America.

But, when it comes to football, I think the President may be on to something. A flag and a song can mean a lot. By a lot, I mean $5.4 million.

That - according to a report by NJ.Com - is how much the Department of Defense paid 14 different NFL teams over four years in exchange for patriotic displays at football games. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz) rapped the New Jersey Army National Guard for its spending, which paid for a segment at Jets’ home games where soldiers were featured on a big screen and thanked for their service.

So, who got the money? The Jets, Falcons, Ravens, Bills, Bengals, Browns, Packers, Colts, Chiefs, Vikings and Steelers all got multiple payouts, while the Cowboys, Dolphins and Rams were each paid only once.

The team that got the most money - almost 20 per-cent of the whole program - was the Falcons, who got it in five separate payments.

But football is a big sport in America, and what the president may be on to is that we should all get together at public events and support our flag. It’s only proper.

But, not just the players, of course. Everyone.

That means that every man, woman and child who is sitting in the stands is as responsible as the players for standing at attention, with their hand over their heart, when our national anthem is played.

And everyone who gets up during a seventh inning stretch at a baseball game when God Bless America is being played had better do the same thing. If you go to the bathroom or a concession stand while the song is being played, you should be picked up by team security and be thrown out of the building. If you have a season ticket, you should lose it.

Let’s face it. Respect is respect. When I was at Ft. Knox, they played retreat at the end of the day, every day. Everyone on the sprawling base stopped and faced the flag and stood at attention.

There were common-sense exceptions. Doctors, for example, did not stop operating on patients.

But civilians stopped as well as soldiers. And it’s time to show some real respect to the flag. Whole squads of detectives should be looking at the tapes of the crowds at sporting events every day, looking for people who are talking or scratching their heads or trying to handle their unruly kids. Fire them all,

Other officers out on patrol should start writing tickets whenever they see a worn-out flag, its edges frayed and ragged, waving in the wind instead of being disposed of properly. And, they could start enforcing flag etiquette, which bans the use of an American flag in advertising and on clothing. Hey, respect is respect.

And when Congress is in session, CSPAN should be scanning the house at every opening ceremony where the national anthem is played. Now I know you can’t just fire a member of Congress for not properly respecting the flag, but perhaps they could be sent to tour five or six army bases in war zones and maybe to the north or south pole.

They could be fired for a second offense.

I’m not quite sure what we should do when the President fails to show proper respect to the flag when the national anthem is playing. But, I am thinking about it. Long and hard.

Can you see me smiling?