America=Choice

America=Choice

I was going through a rebellious phase, as most of us do, during my sophomore year of high school. It seemed no one shared my extremely dim view of the American government. No one bothered me about my anti-governmental feelings until I decided to attend a basketball game.
It was Saturday evening and I had just finished a demanding twelve-hour shift at Dairy Queen, after which I was in no mood for any kind of non-relaxing activity. Two friends and I decided to go to the evening's basketball game to cheer on the local team and, more importantly, to blatantly stare at the cheerleaders. We arrived and took our standard seats at the top of the bleachers. When the "Star Spangled Banner" began to play, everyone stood for that which was reminiscent of lab rats responding to the sound of a bell or the scent of a cube of White American. The entire population of the gymnasium stood up in respect for the country. I, on the other hand, remained seated.
When the song and progressed to the line "By the dawn's early light," one particularly audacious biology teacher sprinted up the bleachers and screamed in my face for me to stand. I unworriedly refused mulitple times. The sheer calmness of the tone which I used to decline her request seemed to infurate her even more. When she finally tromped back down the bleachers, I thought she'd backed down. Whithin seconds, though, she returned with the vice principal who ordered me to stand or be banned from all future school functions. They did not seem to notice that they were ignoring their own obligation to the flag and the anthem to discipline me. Though the two authority figures shrieked at me to stand, I peacefully and defiantly remained seated until the song had finished. Promptly at the song's conclusion, I stood and sauntered down the bleachers, leaving my unsupportive friends behind. The other sports fans jeered at me for my action.
As I marched out of the gymnasium, the vice principal and his side-kick, the biology teachers, followed as if they were forcing me from the premises, chirping into my ears like irritated birds.
As we progressed toward the exit of the school, I thought of my friend who ad only lived to see nineteen years of life before he entered the Peace Corps. He was killed in Iraq while helping to get fresh, clean water to the people in a small Iraqi village. He was murdered by a group of civilians because he was American.
This was the reason I did not stand. Because of my grief, I was in protest against the "War on Terrorism" and the war in Iraq. The Iraqi people obviously and rightfully felt invaded and overthrown by the Americans.
As we continued our march to the door, I began to feel as a martyr for my cause. I started to feel rejected because of my lonely protest that even my friends didn't support. It was curious that the two oppressors didn't thinkg to ask me if I was allright when they noticed that I remained in my seat while everyone else stood. Had I been sick, or suffering an asthma attack, it was probable that they wouldn't have taked me to the hospital until after I stood for the National Anthem in its entirety. It was disturbing that they didn't respect my rights. It was disquieting that no one in the entire gymnasium cared to ask the reason for my not standing.
As I stood in the doorway, the vice principal demanded that in "his school" we followed "his rules". Therefore, I was not allowed to return to another school event of any kind for the rest of my high school years. Later, I learned that my rights had been infringed upon.
In the case of Tinker v. Des Moines School District, it was ruled that one doesn't lose one's rights upon entering a school. The ruling of the Supreme Court, according to the records of the United States Supreme Court on www.bc.edu, in the aforementioned case, also stated that as long as a protest is "quiet and passive" and does "not infringe upon the rights of others" it is "within the protection of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."
The story illustrates that Americans as a whole are uncaringly uninformed about political issues. Has the great country become a nation occupied by heartless fools? Americans need to take care of one another and let each other have opinions as the human nature demands.
My story is a perfect example of the fact that the majority of citizens of America will blindly follow their governmental leader and ostracize those who do not agree. If it weren't for deviants, isn't it true that America wouldn't be what it is today? In fact, there would not be a United States of America were it not for deviants.
Voters tend to be extremely under-informed if not uninformed completely. When asked why they vote for the party that they do, people give an ignorant answer such as "Democrats want to take away our guns" or "Republicans are racist and hate gays." It is okay for all citizens and voters to have opinions. It is extremely important, espically at election time, for those people's opinions to be informed.
Americans need to take a step back and "look at the big picture." It is important to have personal opinions and feelings, but it is also important not to shun others when they do not agree. It is vital to take care of one's self, but it is also vital to take care of others. It is imperative not to forget that upon which our country was founded: FREEDOM.