USA's Reaction During National Anthem; Many Causes

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                        

Our 15 star flag from 1795 to 1818

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large American flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the American victory.

                                                                         

Children in the USA are taught in school to stand when it is played
as a sign of respect to our country and our flag, just as they are taught to put their
right hand over their heart when they say the pledge of allegiance to the flag. 

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889, and by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.

Oh, say can you see,
By the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed,
At the twilight's last gleaming?…

Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched,
Were so gallantly streaming.
And the rocket's red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night,
That our flag was still there.
Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave,For the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

Composer: John Stafford Smith

                                                         

George Washington Crossing the Delaware, fighting for a creation of a USA  in 1776

It doesn't hurt to stand for a 60 second National Song. People are expected to remove their footwear while going into a temple with a friend. The point is, there are somethings which are sacred to others; if by your personal choice you choose to not perform certain acts in certain situations, you will be unknowingly disrespecting the people who believe in that very act.  In India, tons of ritual-residue are dumped into Ganges (the holiest of the rivers in India). The people in the Government see the colossal amount of pollution, but no Government dares to shut down the practice.The analogy shows the expectations of people for respect of something; a belief in something. Our American flag is a representation of our American history with all its greatness and its flaws.  It's us and our belief system.   Do you understand the value of being a citizen of the United States and living under this flag?  

                                                                       

  

The USA was created by disgruntled people with Britain.  Britain, as usual, took over other countries in order to use their raw materials.  North America was no different ever since 1620 when the Pilgrims sailed dangerous seas and managed to arrive at Plymouth Rock.  It took the growing population 156 years  to throw off the shackles of Britain and stand  on their own feet as a new nation.   Americans with ancestors from this period remember with pride their family members who fought in the Independence of 1776, the battle of 1812.                                            

America Has Been At War 93% of the Time – 222 Out of 239 Years – Since 1776.

There were only 21 calendar years in which the U.S. did not wage any wars.

The only time the U.S. went five years without war (1935-40) was during the isolationist period of the Great Depression.  I was born in 1934.  I remember 1941 and wanting a bicycle, something very hard to come by during that year when WWII started. I thought it would never end.  Newspapers only wrote about how the war was going.                                      

The 10,000th Syrian refugee entering USA

                          People from all over the world still want to immigrate to our country.  It is the desired place of refuge.   There is a long waiting list.  At the same time, refugees have entered our country for many years now because the Arab Spring has gone into all the other seasons since December 10, 2010. To top that number, we've had illegal immigration going on with people sneaking into the USA from Mexico and Central America, places who do not provide any possible jobs for their people.  All these people seek the freedom provided by the USA.

NFL Players across US kneel during national anthem to protest Trump's feud with the league about lack of patriotism over not standing for national anthem.  This game was in England. They stood for England's national anthem.  

                                                                       

Colin Kaepernick and Erin Reid kneel during National Anthem, 49ers game against Rams on a Monday.  a couple of Rams raised their fists in protest.   They were protesting police discrimination and brutality against Blacks.   Reid explained that when the flag is lowered, it is when someone has died and shows respect, so this is why they decided to kneel.
  

Our most favorite sports population have decided that the $millions they accept in wages as being such outstanding  athletes is okay, but they are dissatisfied.  They have shown their dissatisfaction by refusing to stand when the national anthem is played as a pre-nationalizing experience to starting their game.  Now 8 year old children playing football are also copying this behavior.  No doubt it is already hitting schools when they do play the anthem or study it in music classes.  

                                                                       

Entire Garfield high school football team is kneeling during their game against West Seattle High.  They are protesting "social injustices."  

This has become a topic of debate that is quite serious at a time our country faces danger from North Korea and Iran.  We are in danger of being hit by some form of atomic warfare if these rogue countries get their way and we are facing big strong athletic men who don't want to stand in public for their country's national anthem.  It's hard for a country striving to be so good to please everyone.  Maybe the high schools will take this debate on in their debating classes.  Is it fit and proper to show your disfavor with things publicly by going against the national expectations of standing for a national anthem?  All countries have one and stand for theirs, too.  What happens in their country if publicly known athletes refuse to follow good form? 

                                                              

When I was in high school, our  boys in the class year of 1951 didn't get to graduate.  They were all  drafted into the Army or they enlisted in a different force.  We had the Korean War going on.  It started June 25, 1950 and ended July 27 1953.  There was a draft in place during the Korean Conflict.  Between the Korean War's outbreak in June 1950 and the armistice agreement in 1953, Selective Service inducted over 1.5 million men. Another 1.3 million volunteered, usually choosing the Navy or Air Force.  Congress passed the Universal Military Training and Service Act in 1951 to meet the demands of the war. It lowered the induction age to 18½ and extended active-duty service commitments to 24 months. Despite the early combat failures and later stalemate in Korea, the draft has been credited by some as playing a vital role in turning the tide of war. 

The Korean War began when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People's Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. ...

                                                                      

 The Korean peninsula is still divided today. North Korea is ruled by a dictator family's only son, Kim Jong-un.  Pyongyang's Foreign Minister says it is now inevitable that their missiles will now hit the USA mainland. This is his response after Trump's calling their leader the Rocket Man.  Trump said it after hearing about their missile tests that are getting greater in distance, reaching for the USA's mainland and army bases.  

                                                                       

When we see our American flag, we should feel pride in our country.  It's a one in a million country.  There is no other like it or with such a history.  It's helped out Europe in WWI and WWII.  It helped Korea and Vietnam.  It's helped Israel.  When you come right down to it, who else do countries go to when in fear of their life?  It's the home of the United Nations.  Do Americans still hold respect for this land of the free and home of the brave?  Do you understand why it is the home, only 241 years old,  of the free and land of the brave with only 45 presidents? 

  

Resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1wLtAXDgqg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner

https://www.quora.com/Why-are-people-supposed-to-stand-when-a-national-anthem-is-playing

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/02/america-war-93-time-222-239-years-since-1776.html

http://www.history.com/topics/korean-war

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jaguars-ravens-players-kneel-national-anthem-article-1.3517618

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/north-korea-inevitable-missile-hit-us-mainland-donald-trump-insult-rocket-man-a7963781.html

North Korea's Hydrogen Bomb and How People Came To Have Such Weapons

Kim Jong-un of North Korea tested a Hydrogen bomb on September 1, 2017.
He's surrounded by a female unit of soldiers so happy about its success.  

Nadene Goldfoot                                       

Atom Bomb dropped on Japan 1945 by USA that finally ended World War II
This was a war entered by USA on December 7, 1941 with the attack on Pearl Harbor
in Hawaii.  
Europe had already been at war with Nazi Germany and US was helping but not entering the war.  Germany had invaded Poland September 1, 1939.  My Uncle Werner had left
Germany in May 1939.  Things were very bad for Jews in Germany by then.  He had already been taken to prison on the pretext of beating a cow with a stick on the way to the slaughter house.  His father was a sausage-maker.  
The U.S. economic sanctions on Japan, as part of the effort to deter Japanese military aggression in Asia and the Pacific, was a major cause of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

In 1948, Korea was split between the North and South sections as a result of the Cold War involving the USA and the Soviet Union.  North Korea was supported by the Soviet Union and China.  The USA supported South Korea.
                                                                         

"The conflict escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union and China—moved into the south on 25 June 1950 On 27 June, the United Nations Security Council authorized the formation and dispatch of UN forces to Korea to repel what was recognized as a North Korean invasion. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing 88% of the UN's military personnel."

This is when boys in my high school classes disappeared.  We found out that they had joined the army to fight in Korea.  That's how many didn't get to graduate our Washington High.

"The fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when an armistice was signed. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no peace treaty has been signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war."
                                                                           

"During the final stage of World War II, the United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively.   The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history."  Germany had been working on its development first.  The USA was able to gather the scientists after the war and work on it.  
               
After fighting Germany and then Japan, two fronts at the same time, President Truman had to make the decision to do so.  It was like a last stand, a do or die condition.  Our government felt they had to take this step or lose the war.  I don't think they realized how horrible an atom bomb was.  There were survivors.  "The Japanese government has recognized about 650,000 people .   As of March 31, 2017, 164,621 are still alive, mostly in Japan.  There were even Koreans working in Japan who were also injured and survived.  
                                                              

I remember being in the 8th grade and our librarian read a book about this bombing to our class.  It was vivid and horrible.  I remember listening to this day.  It could have been HIROSHIMA by John Hershey.  I can't remember the title.  I think people need to read this today.  
                                                                    

The USA, Russia, France, UK and China have this Hydrogen bomb. 

A Hydrogen bomb is : an immensely powerful bomb whose destructive power comes from the rapid release of energy during the nuclear fusion of isotopes of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium), using an atom bomb as a trigger.
                                               

2 months after the A bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. 

"North Korea has long sought the means to deliver an atomic warhead to the United States, its sworn enemy, and Sunday's nuclear test followed reports it could load a hydrogen bomb onto an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)."  It can be 1,000 times more powerful than an Atom Bomb.  

"Radiation in the city was so intense that everybody would have died soon afterwards."

"North Korea's first three nuclear tests from 2006 to 2013 were atomic bombs on roughly the same scale as the ones used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which together killed more than 200,000 people.

However, Sunday's test is estimated to have a yield of about 100 kilotons, 10 times stronger than last year's test that caused a 5.3 magnitude quake. "  This test caused a 6.3 earthquake. "                     

Kim Jong-un's North Koreans are elated at the success of their
Hydrogen bomb.  South Koreans can't believe it was a Hydrogen bomb.  

Enough is enough.  North Korea is just itching to go to war, commented Nicki Haley, our UN Ambassador.  "Both President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have called for sanctioning countries that do not cut business ties with the defiant Hermit Kingdom. "The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea," Trump tweeted Sunday. Jessica Hullinger."  China is the biggest trader with North Korea.  

Resource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima_(book)
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/hydrogen-bomb-atomic-bomb-difference-170903104649473.html
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/hydrogen-bomb-atomic-bomb-difference-170903104649473.html
http://theweek.com/speedreads/722681/after-north-korea-tests-apparent-hydrogen-bomb-nikki-haley-says-kim-jong-un-begging-war
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/north-korea-nuclear-test-wasnt-7131354
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_the_United_States_during_World_War_II