Properly shushed
Connie Powers, Mary Winkler, Sandra Heins, Emporia
Originally published 01:57 p.m., May 29, 2008
Updated 01:57 p.m., May 29, 2008
During the singing of the National Anthem for the Emporia High School graduating seniors on May 18 in W.L. White Auditorium, there was a disturbance in the upper section of Section 8. We heard someone in this section say (in a rather loud voice), “Not during the National Anthem.” We do not know what was going on, but all got quiet and with pride we were able to honor our flag.
Thank you to the person who was willing to speak out and give our National Anthem and American flag the quiet respect that they deserve.
Thank you, and God bless America.
hartford (anonymous) says...
Oh man! My son and nephew were in that section! I hope it wasnt them! I apologize if it was! They know better than that. They are 14 and 13 and when they are together they act 8. If it was them it would be my fault for not making them sit with me. Sorry Emporia!
May 29, 2008 at 5:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sexingthecherry (anonymous) says...
I'm not sure that a person's behavior during a song has any bearing on their respect for their country.
May 30, 2008 at 1:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawker (anonymous) says...
The great concern that I have for our country's future is that the attitude of sexingthecherry is becoming more and more common, and worse, accepted by our culture. Behavior that is disrespectful to our flag and our National Anthem is not only vulgar and rude, but a real danger to our way of life. A society that does not respect its dead and its symbols will not last.
May 30, 2008 at 2:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Amen, Tre.
As a long time teacher, I have attended many, many events where The Star Spangled Banner was played. All too often, I've seen people (not only kids) talking on cell phones, talking to each other, poking at each other, laughing at whoever is singing the anthem. Disgusting! And yes, it certainly is disrespectful!!! Now we see that there is actually a code that governs behavior expectations. Works for me.
May 30, 2008 at 2:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Right on, Jayhawker. Perhaps these people you speak of are the Millenial generation we hear so much about. My daughter is a corporate vice president for a national company. She says these people don't even have the respect it takes to dress properly for a job interview. Jeans, shorts, and those ubiquitous rubber thong sandals.
"Being connected is important. If the Baby Boomer slogan is "Be all you can be," then the Millennial slogan might be "Be all we can be."
May 31, 2008 at 8:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sexingthecherry (anonymous) says...
I'm disrespectful because I believe more in our country than I do in a song about it? Well then, I guess I'm disrespectful.
At the graduation ceremony, people directly behind me stood in solemn silence during the anthem and then proceeded to make outrageous racist and sexist remarks during the entire rest of the proceedings. That song means nothing to most people, except for the few moments that it is being played. The very same people who puff out their chests during the anthem are working to undermine everything it stands for in practice. I don't respect a symbol of an idea--I respect the idea itself. Following a symbol blindly is nothing more than propaganda. If you have that much respect for a piece of fabric or a few well-known notes, there's not much you can't be convinced to do for those things, even if it betrays what they truly stand for.
May 31, 2008 at 6:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawker (anonymous) says...
I hope that everyone reads sexingthecherry's comments. They are proof that this country is in trouble. We are reaping the seeds sown in the media, in Hollywood, and most of all, the demise of the family. God help us.
May 31, 2008 at 10:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Sexing..., your treasonous comments alone are undermining everything that our flag and anthem stand for. How very troubling and sad to read what you had to say, especially now when men are coming home wrapped in our flag. Shame!
June 1, 2008 at 8:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bjnemp (anonymous) says...
Sexingthecherry: You are an unpatriotic freeloader. You enjoy all the privileges and benefits this great nation has to offer yet you bad mouth it. I get goosebumps and a swell of pride every time I hear the National Anthem. As I listen, I thank God I was born here and think of the brave men and women who gave their lives so ungrateful slime like you can be free to regurgitate ignorant, unpatriotic, disrespectful crap like you just did.
At any event I attend, anyone showing disrespect during the National Anthem is in for a tongue lashing at best and a butt-whuppin' at worst. I love my country and all that represents it, including our National Anthem and our flag. Anyone who doesn't has no right to be here and I consider to my enemy.
June 1, 2008 at 9:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jasper007 (anonymous) says...
Just wondering if anyone read "cherry's" comments to Doc Coldsmith's "Horsin' Around" column???????
June 1, 2008 at 7:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sexingthecherry (anonymous) says...
Wow. It's neat how nobody responded to a single thing I said.
It's interesting to see that people posting in opposition to me truly believe in silencing beliefs that differ from their own. And THAT'S what the anthem represents? Nope, sure doesn't. I would contend that I am more of a patriot for defending real freedom than the people here who advocate silencing my voice or the people at graduation who so self-righteously stood for the anthem but continued on being complete racists afterwards without the slightest awareness of irony.
Sorry--I just don't care about a bit of fabric or a song. I care about real values like freedom, democracy, and justice. The people here who'd rather have me "shushed" are the ones who are truly a threat to this nation. Sorry my ideas are so scary to you that you can't even tolerate listening to them.
June 2, 2008 at 3:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tosie (anonymous) says...
cherry- I think the whole point is that you need to stand silent while the National Anthem is being recited. Don't argue it - just do it. Thanks
June 2, 2008 at 4:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sexingthecherry (anonymous) says...
Actually, tosie, that's not the point at all. The point is: our real-life behavior has bigger implications than the way we behave during a song. Yes, the song is meaningful to some people, but to me, what the song represents is infinitely more important.
For example--let's compare 2 people who claim to be devoutly religious. Person A goes to church every single Sunday, but that's about it. Person B doesn't go to church and, in fact, speaks out about the danger of organized religion. But Person B also gives money to local charities, volunteers in soup kitchens, always speaks kind words even when insulted, and so on. Which person is more devout?
To me, many people who have knee-jerk reactions to people questioning the importance of silence or standing during the anthem are just like Person A. There are simply too many people whose only way of honoring the founding ideals of this country is to stand during the anthem. Those same people, to me, are otherwise undermining those ideals at every turn.
Greenday--Thank you so much! Even if we disagree about some things, I'm glad you can be civil and polite about it. Thanks for making the effort to see where I'm coming from.
June 2, 2008 at 5 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TacoBellB (anonymous) says...
So apparently teaching kids respect is a bad thing according to cherry since that would "shush" them. Give me a flipping break. Geez - reading your entries that just go on and on is exhausting. I take it you like to hear yourself talk? So I'm curious Cherry - do you feel that what the Phelps clan does is okay (at funerals, etc.) - I mean because shutting them up would be taking away their freedoms, right? When did common sense go out the window?!
June 2, 2008 at 5:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sexingthecherry (anonymous) says...
You aren't reading a word I've said.
YES - the Phelps' unfortunately have every right to do what they're doing. It is disgusting and reprehensible and wrong in every way. But how can we possibly legally stop them? We cannot constitutionally keep them from saying what they want to say simply because we don't like it. The closest we can get is hate crime legislation, and most conservative folks don't like that.
But that's so far beyond the point.
Read what I wrote if you want to have this conversation with me. The people who REALLY like to hear themselves talk are the ones who are nonresponsive.
June 2, 2008 at 7:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawker (anonymous) says...
Why do I suspect that sexingthecherry and greenday are the same person writing under different pseudonyms?
June 2, 2008 at 10:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sexingthecherry (anonymous) says...
It's interesting how everyone is saying I disrespect the anthem when I haven't remarked about how I personally behave when it is played.
My only argument is that how one behaves during the anthem is not indicative of their patriotism or values. What the song represents--freedom, liberty, justice, democracy, etc--is incredibly important. But I believe in those things absent the national anthem. Yes, it represents good things, but it--and other symbols--have also been used for evil. It has often been trivialized to meaninglessness. For example, what about the people who substitute "Chiefs!" for the final word of the song?
June 3, 2008 at 9:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Denise_Dorcey (anonymous) says...
Honestly, I don't believe Tre and Cherry are that far apart in their thinking; they're just coming to the same conclusion from different angles: Doing the right thing.
The right thing for Tre is showing reverance to the National Anthem and the flag. For Cherry, doing the right thing is demostrating reverance to their fellow man. (BY the way, I'm not saying that Tre doesn't do this, also).
I have to wonder if this way of looking at life is due to a generation gap between Tre and Cherry. I say this because as one of the last Boomers, I can see it from both sides.
I feel a swelling in my heart when I hear the National Anthem and show that and the flag reverance, however, I also see that patriotism can be better demonstrated in treating your fellow man well. It's more of a active, spiritual form of patriotism.
We all have different things that we find meaningful to us. That's what this Nation was founded upon. That's what makes human beings unique.
Please agree to disagree and embrace each others uniqueness.
Peace to you,
Denise Dorcey
June 3, 2008 at 11:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bjnemp (anonymous) says...
External actions, i.e. behavior, is a reflection of internal actions, i.e. attitude and thoughts. How a person acts during the playing of our National Anthem or passing of the flag reflects their actual thoughts on patriotism and pride.
As for our flag being "just a piece of fabric": tell that to the hundreds of thousands of real patriots who fought and died under, and for, that fabric, or to those who saw that facric draped over a loved one's casket, watched as that piece of fabric was slowly & meticulously folded into a triangle, and handed to the survivors in memory of their loved one's ultimate sacrifice. It is not for the National Anthem or American Flag that we stand in silence; it is for what those symbols stand: our freedoms and those who died to preserve those freedoms you and I enjoy. If you don't think our national symbols are worthy of two minutes of your silence & respect, don't you think those who died to keep you free, are?
June 3, 2008 at 1:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sexingthecherry (anonymous) says...
I guess this is the root of our disagreement--I don't believe people really die for fabric.
It almost seems like we really are in agreement, but you place more values in the symbols themselves than I do. I bet we agree on the importance of what those symbols stand for, 100%. I just don't think that the LITERAL symbols are worth making such a fuss over. If my future children demonstrate civic responsibility, progressive-mindedness, desire for social justice, etc, then I will continue myself incredibly blessed, even if they won't settle down and be quiet for the anthem.
I wonder--would anyone here condemn Quakers/Jehovah's Witnesses for their refusal to acknowledge allegiance to anything but G-d, including the flag/anthem?
June 3, 2008 at 11:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bjnemp (anonymous) says...
Sour Cherry: You asked "would anyone here condemn Quakers/Jehovah's Witnesses for their refusal to acknowledge allegiance to anything but God, including the flag/anthem?" The answer is YES, if they live here and enjoy the religious freedoms our nation provides them. That goes for Atheists, too: and Catholics, Jews, Methodists, Muslilms, or any one else. Religion has absolutely nothing to do with patriotism. Familiar with separation of church and state? It's a fundamental of our existence.
United we stand; divided we fall. People like you weaken and divide our nation. Fortunately, because so many have died for that "fabric" you so disdain, you have the right to do that.
June 4, 2008 at 8:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sexingthecherry (anonymous) says...
" do you get offended when you see people over in middle eastern countries burning the U.S. Flag?"
Well yes, but probably not for the same reasons you might. Again, to me, it's just a piece of fabric. They burn it, not because they oppose the things it stands for (like freedom, etc) but because it is a representation of our country. I guess I see it as equivalent of burning a sign that says "USA" on it. Which is certainly not happy. But I don't think that sort of thing occurs in a vacuum. Why would those people be doing that? Often, it's because they are forced to participate in those rallies by a totalitarian government.
"Do you feel no pride whatsoever when say, at the Olympics, the U.S.A. wins a gold medal?"
Sure, I feel pride, but also sadness. Those same athletes are stifled from having any identity beyond their skill. For example, Tommie Smith/John Carlos raised their fists in the air when they won medals in the ‘68 Olympics to show their desire for racial equality. They were banned from the Olympics, and faced death threats at home. Similarly, athletes in the Beijing Olympics must sign contracts agreeing not to speak about political issues. Many issues surrounding the Olympics are a damn shame.
"Or say, at the any given War memorial"
Honestly, when I see these memorials, all I feel is sadness.
"those flags/memorials are meaningless, because they are just symbols?"
See, this is the part where there are subtle nuances. I do NOT believe the flag is meaningless. It has meaning, definitely. But the literal fabric of the flag? Not so much. Again, I don't think anyone really dies for the literal flag--they die because they are defending what those symbols REPRESENT.
Bjnemp:
That’s clever what you did with my name. How about we keep the conversation civil?
I never said I disdain the flag. I just place meaning in what it stands for instead of the flag itself. You don't need to have a knee-jerk reaction--if you'd just read my argument, I think you'd have a clearer understanding.
By the way, a person's individual decision has nothing to do with separation of church and state. An individual is neither the church nor the state. But you are literally claiming that if someone gets to enjoy religious freedom, they should do it in a way you approve of. Enjoying religious freedom means being completely free to practice your religion, assuming it doesn't infringe on anyone else's rights. And for many, many people, religion and patriotism are DEEPLY intertwined. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses don't recite the Pledge of Allegiance because they believe their allegiance should only be with G-d.
Our nation exists to be divided. That's why it was founded: to allow people with different viewpoints to live together peacefully. Our differing viewpoints are what make our country amazing. To condemn all views that don't align with yours is to truly defy what the flag and anthem represent.
June 4, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TacoBellB (anonymous) says...
Kstre - you are better than me because at this moment, I think if I saw Cherry on the beach, I would kick sand in her/his face - she/he annoys me - wait - she/he "represents" everything I find annoying! What a sad, sad person. How sad a life cherry must have to find sadness in every little thing possible.
June 4, 2008 at 4:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sexingthecherry (anonymous) says...
Kstre:
I think I don't really understand what you're getting at. The White House, to me, doesn't really represent anything. It's a building. And vandalism is vandalism. I don't advocate committing crimes, either, and public urination is usually considered a crime, I believe. I know these arguments sound ridiculous, but I'm only making them to point out that I think your analogy is a little off. To me, if you own a flag, you are free to do with it whatever you want because it is your personal property. Also, choosing not to stand or be silent during the anthem doesn't have anything to do with violating someone else's rights. So I think we're comparing apples and oranges here.
Also, I would hope that you have respect for random strangers at the beach because they are human beings and not because of their nationality. I also pray that any random American citizen is NOT a representation of this country, because there are some horrifyingly evil people who are citizens of this country. Citizenship does not determine the level of respect I give people. And you forget--humans simply aren't symbols of things. We are just humans. We have rights, we have feelings, we can feel pain. We are not inanimate objects. Again, I think your analogy just falls flat.
Tacobell:
You are literally advocating violence against someone simply because they disagree with your views. Which of us is truly sadder? If I was really sad about everything in life, why would I be criticizing it in an effort to improve it? I want things to be the best they can possibly be--that's optimistic and joyful. Sorry to disappoint.
June 4, 2008 at 9:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )