The Disrespect of our Nation, our Flag, and our Anthem must stop

A Patriot's Opinion

By Jim Snyder

I was seething with anger after watching the recent riots following this year’s presidential election. Young people took to the streets in cities all across this country to protest the election of Donald Trump. And while peaceful protesting is their first amendment right, destroying other people’s property is not. The disrespect for our nation has gotten so out of hand in the past several years. When the last president was elected in 2008 and 2012, there were 55 million people who didn’t like that result, either. But did they go out into the streets and destroy anything? No. Did they set fire to innocent peoples’ businesses? No. They took their medicine and went home and licked their wounds. As much as we disliked the outcome we respected the system. It’s funny how liberals always preach tolerance to the rest of us, yet they are the ones who are intolerant when things don’t go their way.

The total disrespect for anything American has really come to a head during this election cycle. We saw people on Facebook stepping on the American flag, and burning the flag because of their anger. Then we saw the ridiculous disrespect of our national anthem started by Colin Kaepernick. Not long afterward that, it spread to college and even high school football teams. When I saw high school players taking a knee in response to the national anthem at a game honoring military veterans, my heart sunk. None of these kids had a clue what they were really protesting. None of them have ever served this country in a military uniform. They have never put on the uniform of a police officer or a fire fighter and faced real danger. Many of them have never had a real job. No, the majority of these millennial protesters are coddled snowflakes who have had the world handed to them on a silver platter. I’m sure many of them were given participation trophies growing up. They were never taught the important lessons of winning and losing. Despite what psycho-babble you have heard over the years, losing is a valuable life lesson. Learning to be a good loser makes you a better winner. They were never taught respect for the flag and what it stands for. Instead, they were taught to be free spirits, allowed to explore their inner self. And in the last decade, discipline has taken a back seat to time outs and self-examination periods.

The college students protesting are another story. Many of these folks have been indoctrinated by their professors into believing that America is somehow responsible for all of their problems. Many of them are majoring in subjects like 17th century French literature, Middle Eastern Cultures, or Gender Studies. Good luck finding a job in any of those areas when you graduate. Last time I was at a job fair, I didn’t see any vendors looking for those areas of expertise. These kids have no clue what is going on in the real world. They live in their little liberal bubbles never having to deal with life in Realville. Many colleges have p r o v i d e d their students with crying areas and safe spaces in order to cope with their perceived stress over Donald Trump being elected president. One professor even excused them from having to take their midterm exams due to their make believe trauma. Give me a break. What they really need are reality check zones to snap them out of their utopian dream world.

Then, upon graduation they are thrust into the real world and all of a sudden it’s a never ending rant of “The system’s not fair,” or “Where is my free stuff.” News flash, snowflakes: there are no free rides. Your “free stuff” comes from millions of hard working Americans who work 40 to 60 hours a week to provide those freebies, as you like to call them. Stop blaming everyone else for your problems and start contributing to society. Because frankly, the rest of us are tired of your whining. You like to complain and riot because a man you don’t like was elected president? Well, boo hoo. Well, guess what? You are part of the reason that happened. A majority of Americans were finally tired of watching their country, their flag, and their rights being violated by you and your kind. So if you really don’t like the way things turned, then get out. But if you decide to stay, sit down, shut up, and take your medicine. Meanwhile, the remainder of us will protest peacefully by celebrating our patriotism and our renewed freedom.