I am grateful to live in an era where I can confidently wear pants without feeling alienated or taboo.
A place where I can sit up with my legs neatly crossed or slouching with my legs staggered and sticking out. An era where I can vote and work the same jobs as my male counterparts. I live in an era where it's okay to wear pink or blue, or even all black if I wanted to. I have the freedom to turn down food that I feel is not of an acceptable quality to my standards. I can turn my nose up to flavors that I don't like. I can browse a plethora of online markets and with the click of a button and 2 day shipping, have my worlds desires at my feet. I have a relationship where I can dress how I want to,  listen to the music that I want to, and take part in my own activities. I have devices and social media that allow me to project my opinions onto the internet for anyone to see. I have access to free and paid education for as long as I have the desire and commitment to learn. I have the freedom to work hard to build the life I want to have.

Not every person has these freedoms.
Many people struggled and fought for us to have these freedoms and opportunities.

As a society we show this appreciation in several ways.
I would like to believe that people show their gratitude beyond a few days but not everyone is in check with remaining humble and grateful unless it benefits them or if it syncs up with the trending topic/day at hand.

Thanksgiving is arguably the most popular day for people to show their gratitude for everything.
Memorial Day & Labor Day are days for people to show appreciation and respect to the work force and the military forces that have fought in past, present, and future.

Just this past Sunday was 9/11, the most recent tragedy of the United States. I remember exactly where I was when 9/11 happened. I knew what happened but I was shocked that it was real. It was like something out of a movie and something that still makes me somewhat sad is that because all of the coverage was on TV & Radio - I was desensitized by media to feel like it wasn't happening around me or to me. I was not directly affected by the event yet millions of people still cry to this day. It was a very sad and heart breaking event for our nation and every year it still stings despite growing more and more distant in the past. Something like that just haunts you forever.

On 9/11 it's very common to give a moment of silence to recognize the importance of unity and compassion during times like that day. Communities came together to help one another like never before until Katrina. We give a moment of silence because we lost loved ones either in the event itself or loved ones that were trying to contain the situation and find the victims and survivors etc...

Another way we show appreciation, thanks, and remembrance is via the pledge of allegiance and the national anthem. Every day in school we recited the pledge of allegiance and at every sports event or official event the national anthem is played. It is second nature to remove your hat and to put your hand over your heart as the lines are repeated in unison.

For a very long time I never knew the purpose of the pledge, I just knew that we had to do it every morning. After a few years it became annoying and pointless to me but I continued to follow suit because I didn't want to get in trouble or be the odd one out. As I entered high school, less students took part in the pledge because they either had a religious belief excusing them or they were rebellious and lazy. In college, we didn't recite the pledge at all.

To be honest, I'm sitting here trying to even remember the entire thing... I remember bits and pieces but I'm shooting blanks. I remember the anthem though somehow.

In recent events several individuals have been on the hot seat for not participating in doing the pledge of allegiance or the national anthem. The nation is really divided on this issue as well. I would like to throw my opinion out there and hopefully some of  you out there will see where I'm coming from and understand my reasoning on things.

So when I saw the article about the football player getting flamed over this issue, I felt like society was getting pissed off over nothing. I say this because the guy who raped a girl on a college campus was only in jail for 3 months because the judge didn't want to ruin his opportunities for education and his career, which pretty much says to me that he doesn't give a flying fuck about the girl who is going to be forever scarred at the school she goes to, especially if she has to spend the rest of her education seeing his face and seeing that he was let go so easily. That's complete bullshit. You're telling me that  guy not putting his hand on his heart is a bigger disgrace than people getting away with rape?

So the situation escalates because the day he did this just so happened to also be 9/11.
He got thrown under the bus for a double whammy and I'll admit that he probably didn't make the best move in this situation. I mean, as much as I think doing the pledge is a waste of time, it's part of tradition and 9/11 is a super serious day for the US so that's the one day where you should set your differences aside and just honor the fallen and respect the people who gave us our lives etc...

But people were giving him hell on twitter saying that if you don't recite the pledge or stand for the national anthem etc... then you are spitting on everyone who has fought for our freedom and everyone who is currently out in the world fighting for our freedom while we sit here and bitch about football players and historical jingles.

I've also heard opinions from people saying that if you can't respect these simple things then you should be kicked out of the country. Now I will say that yes, these jingles are simple things that everyone can do and there honestly shouldn't be any problems but not everyone believes and worships God so they're not obligated to sing songs about him or things in relation to what goes against their beliefs. However, someone should NOT be kicked out of the country for something so petty as a national jingle.

I mean, I'm happy to go take an extended vacation in South Korea, Japan, Sweden, or England as long as someone doesn't mind paying for everything required for me to do so. I love traveling!

A few people of the military have expressed their opinions by saying yes, we are working very hard to make sure our family, our country, etc... is safe, happy, and continues to have freedom.  
Which means, that includes all freedoms, not just the ones that are catered to you.

And that line really hit home for me. We have the freedom to do whatever we want, as long as we are not breaking any laws or harming other people and preferably, not harming ourselves. If you don't agree with the decision or lifestyle that a person is making, you have the freedom to disagree, but you do not have the authority to constrict them to your ideals.

That is the beauty of freedom. We have the right to agree, disagree, and live how we want.
People have the freedom to stand or sit for the pledge/anthem. And if that bothers you, then all you can do is simply stand and participate and look away from those who are doing the opposite. You don't gain anything from scoffing at them and I'm sorry, but this doesn't hold enough weight to alienate them and shun them etc...

In my opinion, these things are out of habit & tradition rather than deep rooted meaning. If you are super patriotic or you have close relations to the military, and history, etc... then American Pride and doing this stuff up your alley and you are welcome to continue blasting your pride as much as you'd like. But some of us don't really jump on the pride train. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be a US citizen instead of living in a country where neighborhoods are being bombed left and right but I feel like the US likes to toot their horn and wave a flag any chance we get and I'm introverted. I don't like being the extreme center of attention and all of that mumbo jumbo.

And my biggest thing is that they're just songs. I'm sorry but you can thank our soldiers as much as you want but it's not going to bring the dead ones back to life. It's not going to send our loved ones home faster and it sure as hell won't stop these stupid wars and fights that go on around the world.  The country is run by blood, money, and power. Pride is cute but pride doesn't do shit.

The pledge/anthem are nice gestures to follow tradition but they will not save you if something bad happens. It doesn't get rid of cancer. It doesn't stop women and men from being raped. It doesn't stop people dying from heroin overdoses and it doesn't increase our value or our freedom.

If anything, it just further promotes the idea of continuing a repetitive cycle. That's what life is. Starting, repeating, and ending sequences of actions until we have spent all of our energy and die. Get up, shower, eat, work, eat, work, relax, sleep, repeat. Life is repetition and keeping busy.

So while everyone is up on the Twitterverse complaining about gorillas dying, transgender bathrooms, celebrities spitting on donuts, musicians twerking half naked, gay people getting married, and football players not standing for the national anthem... out there in the actual world, people are being murdered, raped, kidnapped, trafficked, whored out and sold, bombed, etc...

Society is meant to be distracted by petty things that are trending so that people of high power can continue their plans of action without society shifting their focus. So many things go on that we are unaware of unless they somehow get leaked or finally covered by the media.

There are so many things going on in the world that you will never know about unless Twitter and Facebook spam the hell out of it on your feeds.

Do yourself a favor and go out there and educate yourself on something that is happening in the world and appreciate where you are and how your life is and do something to help someone else even if it's something small. Express, utilize, and take advantage of the freedoms you have while you have them. Stand up for the pledge/anthem or don't, that's your life, do what you want with it.