To the editor:
True patriots are willing to sacrifice to defend the tenets of our Constitution and protect our fellow citizens. Patriotism displays in different ways, but the most respected ways involve actions to help or protect others from harm for the good of our nation.
The men and women who serve or have served in our military are patriots.
The people joining the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic are patriots.
The people who follow the recommended procedures of mask-wearing, distancing, hand washing, self-quarantining and testing are patriots.
Refusing to follow these procedures is not patriotic but increases the risk to others.
People who demonstrate peacefully and constitutionally to protest racial injustice are patriots.
People who respectfully take a knee during the National Anthem to protest racial injustice are exercising their constitutional rights. This is an action intended to help and protect others by getting laws changed that will save lives.
These people are patriots.
People who show disdain toward others who are exercising a patriotic act, like taking a knee, should re-evaluate their motives and decide if ridiculing patriotic action is really going to show that they are the patriots they think they are just because they stand and hold their hand over their hearts.
It is fine if you want to demonstrate your opposition by not respecting those who take a knee or those of us that support this act of patriotism. You do not have to come to or watch any pro-sport game; no one will ever try to force you to do that. Those are your rights and I fought for them on foreign soil. Enjoy them, but do not call yourself a patriot because you stand and hold your hand over your heart while the anthem is played under no threat and at no sacrifice.
Patriotism includes respecting people’s rights, not disrespecting people because they are exercising their rights. These are the rights that all those who died on Normandy Beach fought to protect.
Harry Hopkins, Axsom Branch Road
Send letters to [email protected] by noon Thursday before the date of intended publication (noon Wednesday on holiday weeks). Letters must be signed by the author and include the writer’s town of residence and a contact method in case of questions.
Letters are the opinions of the writer. They are not verified facts.
Only one letter every two weeks, per writer, to allow for diversity of voices in the opinions section. Please be considerate of sharing space with other letter-writers and keep your comments concise and to the point. Avoid name-calling, accusations of criminal activity and second- and third-hand statements of “fact.”
