U.S. flag, national anthem spark debate

To some, our nation’s flag and national anthem represent freedom. To others, they represent bondage and oppression.

The emotional attachment to the nation’s flag varies by individual. For some, it is a symbol of national heritage. Others say it’s a symbol of the military.

Ken Peters, left, expresses respect for the American flag with Kirk Mueller during the national anthem before the varsity volleyball game Tuesday at Saxony Lutheran High School. "I was in the military from 1959-65," Peters said. "I'm about as big a patriot as you can find."Fred Lynch

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick ignited a national conversation over his refusal to stand for the national anthem before football games.

“I am not going to stand up and show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” he was quoted as saying.

Colin Kaepernick

Kaepernick has been criticized for his actions by many of his fellow athletes. But a number of students at Southeast Missouri State University said Tuesday he has a right to protest.

Nicole Jones and Taylor Terry, who are black students from St. Louis, said the anthem and the stars and stripes don’t represent freedom to them.

“It is supposed to mean freedom. What it actually means to me is privilege,” Jones said as she and Terry sat at a table in the University Center at Southeast.

“I don’t feel like the American flag really gives African-Americans freedom like it is supposed to be symbolized,” she said.

“We are still enslaved in America,” she said, arguing blacks are oppressed.

Terry said the national anthem was written at a time when “everybody wasn’t free.”

She added, “My ancestors were still enslaved.”

She said, “Even in this day and age in 2016, African-Americans are still being very marginalized in a land that is supposed to be free. It is not.”

Terry added, “We may not physically be in bondage, but mentally there are a lot of barriers that we do have to overcome.”

At another table in the University Center, student James Sponsel of Plato, Missouri, said the nation’s anthem and flag symbolize the United States.

“It means history, respect for the men that served our country, everything our country stands for,” he said.

He added it signifies “freedom and pride.”

At a lunch table in the University Center, a group of black and white students offered various views on the issue.

Jordan Brown of Gainesville, Florida, said he supports Kaepernick’s actions.

“I don’t think he was doing it to be disrespectful,” said Brown, who is black. “I think he was doing it to raise awareness for something that has been pushed aside, and it has always been pushed aside.”

But black student Chris Davis of Memphis, Tennessee, said people should stand up and show respect for the flag and anthem because, regardless of any problems, “it is still a free country and you live here.”

Davis said the San Francisco quarterback should have found a different way to protest.

Fellow student Marc Maton of Springfield, Illinois, said he believes all Americans should stand for the playing of the national anthem.

“I think out of principle and respect for our armed forces, you should stand, no matter what,” he said.

But those who are members of Jehovah’s Witnesses won’t salute or pledge allegiance to the American flag or any other nation’s flag. According to the religious denomination’s website, they are loyal to “God’s kingdom” and don’t take part in politics.

For many of our nation’s veterans, listening to the national anthem and viewing the flag are very personal activities.

Cape Girardeau real-estate agent and Vietnam War veteran Tom M. Meyer said, “Emotionally, it gets to us.”

Meyer, who served in the war as a Navy Seabee from 1969 to 1972, said he saw “the amount of effort and sacrifice” of fellow soldiers, including friends who died in the war or from related health problems afterward. “I think about them often.”

Meyer said the flag and national anthem personally “comes right to the heart.”

mbliss@semissourian.com

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