PROTEST, AGITATE, RESIST(True American Values)

PROTEST, AGITATE, RESIST(True American Values)
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Clouds Over Our Nation

Clouds Over Our Nation

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Protest, Agitate, and Resist are action verbs that are every bit, part and parcel, of the bedrock of our Democracy. Why then would the taking of a knee during the National Anthem be construed as “Unpatriotic?” Are not “Freedom” and “Patriotism” mutually exclusive principles? Americans understands this concept. Our troops do as well; they fight to preserve our “Freedoms” with the full knowledge that their fellow citizens are “Free” to protest. To protest even our very own “Sacred Cows” – our Flag or our National Anthem. This profound and everlasting respect for our “Bill of Rights” is what makes America unique and the “World’s Oldest Living Democracy.” Once again, the moment has arrived when Americans must reconsider our tendency to label protesters as “Enemies of the State” and to realize and recommit to the idea that “Patriotism” runs much deeper than our “Flag” or our “National Anthem.”

PROTEST: In the “Spirit” of Crispus Attucks who is credited with being the first casualty of the American Revolution. He was one of many colonists engaged in a protest against British troops “Quartered” in Boston. He was killed in 1770 in what became known as the Boston Massacre. He did not die for our “Flag;” poor Betsy Ross had yet to design it. And he did not die for the sake of our “National Anthem;” for it too had yet to be composed. Rather, he died while protesting for a worthy cause; the cause of “Freedom,” A cause worth of dying for. Just ask Goodman, Cheney, Schwerner and Dr. King, to name a few.

PROTEST: In the “Spirit” of the Whiskey Rebellion which took place during Washington’s first term. The “Rebellion” was over the issue of “Taxation without Representation.” It was a protest not dissimilar to that waged by the current residents of the District of Columbia whom display the exact same sentiment on their license plates.

PROTEST: In the “Spirit” of our “Veterans.” It was a broken promise by Congress that led World War I’s veterans, the “Bonus Army,” to descend on Washington in 1932 in protest over the non-payment of their promised “Bonuses.” They had fought in the trenches on the “Western Front” for the principle of “Freedom” worldwide. And they didn’t leave their right to protest on the “Battlefield.” Neither did the “Vietnam Veterans Against The War” who protested the war and the senseless death of their comrades-at-arms.

AGITATE: In the “Spirit” of Fredrick Douglas who considered agitation to be a “Civic Duty.” He had no quarrel with “Our Flag” and two of his sons fought with the famous 54th Massachusetts Regiment during the Civil War. But as a former slave he took issue with the promise of our “Declaration of Independence. On July 5, 1852 before a packed audience assembled by the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society” he delivered his seminal speech on: “The Meaning of the Fourth of July to the Negro,” a must read for all Americans. In his trademark eloquence he gently castigated America for being hypocritical while challenging her to live up her true principles. He propounded the following question to America: “What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? Today, one “Bad Hombre” feels compelled to stir things up. He degrades football players and the “Free Press” resurrecting Douglas’ query from the dust bin of history. The question remains: whether Americans will stand idle as our “Freedom of Expression” is immeasurably diluted or take heed and remain vigilant?

AGITATE: In the “Spirit” of Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall who together launched a legal campaign to end the legacy of “Separate but Equal” of Plessy v. Ferguson and to restore the full measure of our rights to African Americans. Along the way they witnessed the integration of the Armed Forces, our schools, our society, the Supreme Court, and finally the “Office of the President.”

RESIST: In the “Spirit” of that great American, Muhammad Ali, who understood the principle of standing up for “Freedom.” At a young age, after having proudly served on our National Olympic Boxing Team, he boldly refused to serve in the Army during the Vietnam conflict. He rested his refusal on his personal religious beliefs. For this, he lost his Heavyweight Boxing Championship Title and Belt and was sent to a Federal prison. Still, he would not give up on his or our collective, right to the “Free Exercise of Religion.” Ali was willing to suffer the loss of his personal liberty and more for a higher principle. The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision would later overturn his conviction for “Draft Evasion.” In doing so the “High Court” appropriately placed the greater principle of “Freedom of Religion” over the popular belief that respecting our “Flag” required our citizens to render military serve under it. The Justices rejected the notion that sought to substitute our national symbols over our “Fundamental Freedoms,” reminding us that, like it or not, these two concepts are indeed distinct and that the latter.

still run deeper than the former.

RESIST: In the “Spirit” of Tommie Smith and John Carlos who respectfully, if albeit politically, protested for basic “Human Rights” at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico. Their “Black Power” salute” during the singing of our National Anthem was widely condemned at the time but served as a potent reminder of the injustices suffered upon people of color and had a major impact on our nation’s “Civil Rights Movement.” Colin Kaepernick and his fellow NFL players are not afraid to protest the injustices and systematic oppression that lingers on in our society today. Americas should take note instead of allowing the White House “Wolves” to devour them. America deserves better, and in that “Spirit” let us seek “Divine Providence” to protect our sacred democracy.

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