Give me religion and patriotism any day
I hardly know how to start responding to a recent writer who accused conservatives of close-mindedness, lack of understanding of issues and using platitudes about guns, God, etc. He went on to say conservatives “hide sanctimoniously behind religion and patriotism.”
I have never decided whether I’m a conservative liberal or a liberal conservative. Nevertheless, I can think of no better platforms on which to stand than those of religion and patriotism and in my mind they do go hand-in-hand. In addition, while I do not think I have been “brainwashed to believe that only America is great,” I do believe that America was once the greatest respected nation in the world; that respectis what needs to be reclaimed.
When the first NFL player knelt instead of standing for the national anthem, I laughed because I knew that in days of yore kneeling was a way to pay the greatest respect. Now that action seems to have spread to the point of being almost meaningless. I saw a survey recently that quoted some of the NFL players when asked why they were kneeling and half of them don’t really seem to know why.
Finally, “the flag and anthem are merely symbols ... the Constitution is what we fight for and should cherish.” The Constitution is just a piece of paper unless you believe in and honor its tenets, which cite religion and patriotism in one form or another.
Give me religion and patriotism any day over stupidity, prejudice, and lack of respect.
Sunni Bond
Hilton Head Island
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This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Give me religion and patriotism any day."