[The Urban Sombrero]

⬆ The entire idea that one must enlist in order to have a legitimate voice is ridiculous and self-serving. I have here on BGR addressed atrocities committed in Vietnam. It has been well documented that a certain mindset was pushed in Vietnam from Command that led to war crimes on the part of our forces. Not all forces, but certainly enough to be noteworthy. I also believe that veteran's hospitals should be the very best hospitals in this nation. We often have lips near praise of the veteran but actual policies and practices that do not mirror that public lauding and proclamation. One must not have enlisted to have a voice on either. To suggest otherwise is self-serving and wrong. This latest round of national anthem protests in the NFL were focused as a stand against the "fire the S.O.B." rhetoric of President Trump. Combining the flag and the anthem as a symbol of love of country does not preclude a person or group of people from using that platform to express dissent. To express dissent through symbolic action is just as protected as to express nationalistic fervor through symbolic assent. The United States of America, in its Charter, recognizes both as legitimate speech. Period.