Athletes disrespect those who died for U.S.
Professional athletes who show disrespect during the national anthem are an offense to those who fought, bled and died for our flag. They certainly have the right to express their opinion, just as I have the right to turn off the TV and not buy tickets to their games. If the stands begin to empty, the TV ratings drop, and the money flow dries up, perhaps the players will be motivated to find a more-constructive way to express their discontent with America.
GARY MAY, NEWNAN
NFL protest calls attention to oppression
It is disheartening to see how many white Americans fail to understand why African-Americans might not view the national anthem or the flag in the same way they do. To state the obvious, the black and white experiences of America have been profoundly different. The “heritage” of African-Americans includes slavery, Jim Crow, lynching, the massive resistance by whites to civil rights legislation, police brutality, disproportionate incarceration, and now the overt racism of the president and the Republican party who are intent on suppressing African-American voting rights and dismantling existing laws designed to prevent racial discrimination. It’s no wonder that African-Americans may not be inclined to celebrate America during the jingoistic patriotic rituals that for some reason precede our sports events. Despite (or because of) criticism by conservatives, including the inappropriate tweets by the president, the protests by NFL players have succeeded in calling attention once again to the continuing oppression of African-Americans in a country ostensibly based on freedom and equality of opportunity for all.
LUCAS CARPENTER, CONYERS
Kurdish state puts us in awkward position
The news that the Iraqi Kurds’ succession referendum resulted in an overwhelming majority voting to create an independent Kurdish state, separate from Iraq, creates a very problematic situation for the U.S. The Iraqi Kurds, who arguably have been our most effective ally fighting against ISIS in Iraq, are trying to succeed against the wishes of the Iraq government, who partly oppose for economic reasons, due to contested oil-rich territories in the Kurdish area. Elsewhere the Kurds in Turkey are pushing to form a unified new state, Kurdistan, which eventually would include Kurd territories in Turkey, Iraq and Iran. All three countries will emphatically not allow Kurdish succession to happen, as it would lead to a break up of their territory along ethnic grounds.
So the U.S. has the dilemma that a valued ally against ISIS, the Kurds, could very soon be in open conflict with our NATO ally, Turkey and the Iraqi national government, which we support militarily. Good luck sorting that one out.
IAN SHAW, ALPHARETTA
Open displays of patriotism usually empty
I’m a middle-aged black American. Two of my older brothers served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict; one of my sisters in the Army shortly after.
I attended a segregated school from the first through 11th grade and graduated from a previously segregated high school. Subsequently, I was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps, where I completed two combat tours in Vietnam.
Now a retired law enforcement chief executive, I work out often by walking long distances and at the gym. I’ll occasionally wear a t-shirt or a cap with a Marine or law enforcement logo, and some will interpret those as signs of political leanings. I’ll simply say that I don’t discuss politics or religion with people I don’t know and that I have none of the “phobias” surrounding ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or national origin. Put simply, everyone who professes and openly demonstrates patriotism or religiosity possesses neither.
RONALD D. JOHNSON, AUSTELL
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