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

Lies People Tell About Jews and Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
Since the truth being told about Israel is not helping the Palestinians in their fight to destroy Israel, they have been fighting with lies, which is what the Nazi regime used as well.  If you tell a lie enough times, they thought, people will believe it.

When telling the truth, they can mange to tell it in a deceitful way if their goal is to disparage Israel.  One example is saying that Israel doesn't allow Arabs or any non-Jew into the IDF (Israel Defense Force).    Arabs have not been required to serve in the Israeli army for obvious reasons.  In other words, they have been exempt unless they have wanted to serve.  Now even the USA is not that liberal.  If you are a citizen and in time of stress, your name was called in days of the draft.  The Druze are not a Jewish group but have been serving since Israel's creation.  They are one of the best and are very loyal.   Bedouin Arabs are among the "most sought after recruits as they make such good soldiers.

 Recently, Major Ala Wahib, a general in the army has written about how strongly he feels about Israel.  We also have Anet Haskia, a Muslim Arab mother who is proud of her children who serve in the IDF and of her country, Israel.  It may come to the point where all Arabs will be asked to serve along with everyone else. Netanyahu's new coalition has been talking about this.  

As it is, all women under age 26 serve  for 20 months. Men under 29 are called up for 3 years  Men will do milueem for a month out of every year until age 55.  That is a practice time to keep in shape.  Doctors may be called up until age 34.  During 1982's Lebanon War, all the men in Safed were called up and the streets were empty.  Women took over their husband's jobs.  I saw a unit of white-haired and bearded old men marching up the street protecting us.  Surely they were past 55.  We women were asked to bake cakes for the soldiers.  They were put in kiosks that were set up along with coffee for soldiers getting to their destinations.  In that way I helped, but I was afraid that these 18-55 year old soldiers would all suffer from a sugar high.

Orthodox Jewish men have been left to study if they are in Yeshivote (religious higher education), and this may change as well.  Israel is a very little country with only 7 million people and their vast  neighborhood is full of millions of Muslims who have not accepted change in the area.

My husband and I were new olim and had moved to Israel in 1980.  Danny had been in the US air force but had a serious liability of a lung disease that scared even Israel:  He was called in for his physical at age 43 and was given something like a 4F.  Instead, we both served in the Civil Guard where we did duty with others once a month,  training first for 3 days on an M1 Rifle.  Our friend, another Portlander who had moved into an apartment across the street in Safed, had a heart problem which did not keep him out of the army.  He managed, but Dan did die with his disease a few years ago.

Another lie constantly told is that Israel is Apartheid.  One thing I've noticed is that if there's a fault among the Arab population, they will place that fault onto Israelis to get it off their backs.  In fact, they plan to make their Palestine free of Jews, "Judenrein."  Israel has about 1.6 million Arab citizens with full citizenship and rights.  In fact, it is the only country in the Middle East to do so for these Arabs who would have been refugees from 1948's war.  Many Arabs have risen to prominency in Israel.  There are Arab ministers in Israel's parliament.  Arab doctors treat Jewish patients next to Jewish doctors who treat Arab patients.

 I lived in Binyon 213 in Safed, an apartment building full of Jews and Arabs.  During a broken water pipe crisis where my apartment was becoming flooded, an Israeli Jewish lady and an Israeli Arab lady  came to help me without me asking.  They could easily chat with each other while I, a new immigrant, was left pretty much in the dark but loved it.

Because Israel was created to be a Jewish state, the only Jewish state in the world, does not make it apartheid. There are now 6 million Jews and 1.6 million Arabs living there as citizens.   There are 49 Muslim majority states in the world.  Only Jews have suffered the slings and arrows of anti-Semitism for 2,000 years and were in desperate need of their own state.  The Holocaust, where Nazis tried to exterminate all Jews in the whole world, was the turning point for this world to understand that we needed our own country.  We knew it even before while suffering from terrible pogroms in Russia and started the ball rolling then to create our own state.  We knew it again when in 1894 Lt. Dreyfus was put in prison in France just for being Jewish and that caused the wheels to start turning.

2.2 Billion Christians in the world=32% of world population

1.6 Billion Muslims in the world =23% of world population

1.0 Billion Hindus in the world = 15% of world population

500 Million Buddhists in the world= 7% of world population

 14 Million Jews in the world= 0.02% of world population 

Resource:  http://www.israelmuse.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_by_country
http://www.christianpost.com/news/poll-christians-most-numerous-worldwide-nones-majority-in-six-countries-86895/