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Which war would you not want to fight in?

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Which war would you not want to fight in?

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I would not want to fight in the Vietnam war because I felt like America really didn’t have a place in it. I feel like America jumped in without a true purpose. So many horrible things could’ve been avoided if the Americans had not joined that war. That was one part of history that I felt should have been different. I do not support that war at all.

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I like the first amendment of the Bill of Rights because I enjoy being able to practice whatever religion I choose and being able to petition to make a difference.

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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Michelle Obama

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The National Anthem does not need to be played before every single sporting event. It is forced patriotism that has diluted the power of the message of standing at attention before the flag.

A sporting event is a glorified movie, and no movie theater plays the National Anthem before the next showing of "Jason Bourne."

We are numb to the song, the music and the message. There should be an impact to the message when we stand at attention. And the message is standing for the ideal and what we aspire for America, not always what it is.

Displayed inside a dark room at the National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. is the original Star Bangled Banner; it was put on display here after a major effort to restore much of the grand flag in 2008.

It is this flag that was raised by American forces on Sept. 14, 1814 over Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore after a victory against the British. It is this flag that was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key to write a song that is absolutely one of the most difficult in recorded history to perform in key - the "Star Bangled Banner."

It is difficult not to be impressed at the sight of something that means so much to the evolution of our nation.

Since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kapernick decided he would sit rather than stand before the National Anthem during a preseason NFL game as a protest to racial inequality in the U.S., the concept of freedom of speech, racism patriotism have once again become popular fodder in sports commentary.

He has started a nationwide trend; the DeSoto volleyball players knelt before a recent match on Tuesday night.

In looking at the giant flag that represents so much to the history of what is a flawed but wonderful country it is this: America is a house, and Americans are family. Like most homes and most families, there is a high degree of dysfunction and it's often a giant mess of noise, drama, action, love and stupidity. It's also ours, and you don't leave it.

America is the ultimate marriage - for better or for worse, we are stuck with each other.

As an American, Kaepernick has every right to sit during the playing of the national anthem. As an American, we are allowed to take that right for granted.

I have no problem with Kaepernick using his platform as a highly visible athlete to draw attention to a social cause; it's been done time and again, whether it was Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown - and sometimes with great success.

My bigger issue with Kaepernick is has he done anything other than sit and talk? Is he doing something other than stating that racial inequality is a major problem that continues to exist despite our advanced society?

It is one thing to state it, and quite another to do the necessary leg work to work the problem. Brown did it like few others.

Considering the criticism Kaepernick has taken since he did it, perhaps sitting and talking indeed qualifies as his work for this issue that white dudes, such as myself, simply cannot relate.

It is not unpatriotic to call out America for her problems. What is unpatriotic is doing nothing about it.
[ UPDATE: AFTER POSTING THIS, MANY PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA CALLED ME OUT, RIGHTLY SO, FOR FAILING TO RECOGNIZE THAT KAEPERNICK HAS PLEDGED TO DONATE $100,000 PER MONTH OVER THE NEXT 10 MONTHS TO A VARIETY OF CHARITIES. HARD TO FAULT THE MAN FOR THIS. HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE FOLLOWING HIS LEAD WITH THIS TYPE OF CHARITABLE ACTS IS UNKNOWN. ]
Patriotism is not buying a flag and placing it outside your home. Patriotism is not shooting off fireworks on the Fourth of July and grilling burgers. Patriotism is more than taking off your hat and standing still to listen to the words of the National Anthem before returning to your phone.

Being patriotic is doing something for America and making your home a better place to live for yourself, and your family. We may not always like it, and more than 200 years later we know that the democracy designed by the Founding Fathers is beset with flaws like every other political ideology. The Founding Fathers were a group of rich white men trying to create a "fair" society, and we all know that "fair" is a made up concept and a moving target.

There are moments - think 9/11 - when we are there for each other that is most humane during the most inhumane of moments. And there are far too many others when we beat the living hell out of each other out of fear, ignorance, or sometimes merely over a pair of overpriced shoes, or a cheap TV set at Wal-Mart.

A group of broke soldiers in the 1770s, or 1814, fought not for the right to Colin Kaepernick to sit down but rather the right to run a home free clear of another governing body across a large ocean. That's why you stand for the Star Spangled Banner - the fight to win and practice that ideology.

A part of that ideology includes the right for Kaepernick to kneel while everyone else stands during the National Anthem. I would not do it, but I am grateful he has the right to.

This is our house, and Kaepernick is an American, and all he did was merely express his opinions in an effort to raise awareness about a societal injustice. Some may even argue that is patriotic.

Patriotism is embracing all of it, for better or for worse, and that is why I stand.

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This is why you stand for the National Anthem

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The National Anthem does not need to be played before every single sporting event. It is forced patriotism that has diluted the power of the message of standing at attention before the flag. A sporting event is a glorified movie, and no movie theater plays the National Anthem before the next showing of "Jason Bourne."

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God Bless America

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God Bless America - Mormon Tabernacle Choir

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Purchase "God Bless America" from the album "Spirit of America": Amazon: http://amzn.to/QJDqpy iTunes: http://bit.ly/XeY4RR Deseret Book: http://bit.ly/Wqktw3 LDS Store: http://bit.ly/Qj9f72 The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square present Irving Berlin's "God Bless America," arranged by Roy Ringwald. Episode 4320. July 1, 2012

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ALBANY - After weeks of warning about its possible consequences, a federal cut to New York's hospitals took effect on Sunday, adding stress to the state's already overworked public health care system.

The cut came as a result of a lack of action by Congress on so-called D isproportionate S hare Hospital payments, known as D.S.H., which are federal funds that help hospitals cover the cost of serving poor and uninsured patients. Under the Affordable Care Act, those funds were supposed to be reduced as more patients received insurance coverage.

On Sunday, the cuts - which had been forestalled by Congress on several occasions - took effect with the beginning of a new federal fiscal year.

Budget officials said the cuts would result in a loss of $1.1 billion to hospitals around the state over the next 18 months, a shortfall that the state says it cannot make up because of its own looming budget deficit, estimated at about $4 billion.

"The irony and meanspirited nature of the cuts is breathtaking," Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, said in a statement on Friday. "These cuts are specifically targeted to our most stressed hospitals and neediest populations."

At the same time, however, the state was being accused of withholding money owed to NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest municipal public hospital system in the nation and the largest provider of "safety-net" care in New York.

On Friday, the group's interim president, Stanley Brezenoff, wrote a strongly worded letter to Howard A. Zucker, the state health commissioner, voicing his bewilderment about a seeming delay in a large D.S.H. payment. Mr. Brezenoff said the state owed H + H about $380 million for services it provided to some 1.2 million patients. About a third of those patients were uninsured, Mr. Brezenoff said.

The letter was reported by Politico on Friday, the day Mr. Brezenoff sent it to Mr. Zucker.

"I look forward to your expedient intervention to resolve this unfortunate and unnecessary delay," Mr. Brezenoff wrote.

The governor's initial response, however, was less than encouraging. In his statement on Friday, Mr. Cuomo suggested that the city - run by his frequent sparring partner, Mayor Bill de Blasio - should help make Health + Hospitals whole.

"New York City with a $4 billion surplus needs to help H + H," Mr. Cuomo said, noting that Nassau County and the State University of New York also needed to provide financial help for its hospitals. "The situation is clear," the governor added, "the first source of financial assistance for these hospitals must be their associated local governments and SUNY."

That sentiment drew a rebuke from the mayor's office, which said the city was already contributing $1.8 billion this fiscal year. "We have always said our reserves are for a rainy day," said Freddi Goldstein, a spokeswoman for Mr. de Blasio, "not for when Governor Cuomo refuses to give our public hospitals what they're owed for caring for New Yorkers."

In an interview on Monday, Mr. Cuomo's budget director, Rob Mujica, disputed the assertion that the Disproportionate Share Hospital payments were being withheld from the city hospital group, saying that there was no set payment schedule, and that the state was merely trying to get Mr. Brezenoff's organization to plan judiciously for possible future cuts.

"What we're saying is, let's figure out what we're going to do to deal with this," said Mr. Mujica, adding, "If they just spend as if they are going to get this money continuously, they're going to fall off a cliff."

Mr. Mujica said that the New York City hospitals were not being singled out, noting that other safety-net hospitals were also awaiting funds, and "it's not possible for one hospital to take the position that they should be immune."

Mr. Mujica's remarks follow a letter - also sent Friday - from the state's Medicaid director, Jason Helgerson, which informed Mr. Brezenoff that the state's health department had hired an outside firm to come up with "a detailed financial analysis" of each safety-net hospital and "their overall condition."

"We obviously need a long-term financial strategy to deal with these cuts now so hospitals know what to expect," Mr. Helgerson wrote.

Mr. Cuomo has tried to get Mr. de Blasio to contribute more for services before, including in July when he insisted that the city pay for repairs for the deteriorating subway system. The system is run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which the governor controls.

Still, the drama over the D.S.H. payments may eventually be moot: On Monday afternoon, Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, said he was "cautiously optimistic that we can forge a common-sense, bipartisan agreement to preserve D.S.H."

Regardless, the state is also facing other possible cuts, including the deduction for state and local taxes, which Mr. Cuomo's office estimates would cost New York residents $17.5 billion.

In an interview on Monday, Mr. Brezenoff said his organization was still awaiting its funds, which he said typically are disbursed well before the Oct. 1 start of the federal fiscal year. As for Mr. Mujica's assertion that plans for future cuts should be developed now, Mr. Brezenoff seemed mystified by that logic.

"They seem to be saying, 'There's a lot of pain coming down the road, why don't you take some pain now?'" he said.

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With Federal Cuts to Hospitals, Cuomo Suggests New York City Step Up

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ALBANY - After weeks of warning about its possible consequences, a federal cut to New York's hospitals took effect on Sunday, adding stress to the state's already overworked public health care system.

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I think that the most interesting patriotic symbol is the Star Spangled Banner because in my opinion, it not only symbolizes the birth and strength of our country, but also the fact that we are all part of one whole. The actual tune is the tune to an old drinking song. Which shows that we aren’t a country of all rich proper people , but all types of people with different races and personalities.