If the plummeting ratings of NFL football this fall haven’t been convincing enough about how sick many Americans are of whining entitlement and disrespect from malcontents — like San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick — maybe this interlude from the Pearl Harbor Day memorial on Wednesday will be.
It was the simplest of moments. Admiral Harry B. Harris, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, was making his speech in honor of the 75th anniversary and the veterans gathered at the USS Arizona Memorial for it. The New York Post recounts:
The remarks were made by US Pacific Command commander Adm. Harry Harris, who had a father and four uncles serve in World War II.
“You can bet that the men and women we honor today — and those who died that fateful morning 75 years ago — never took a knee and never failed to stand whenever they heard our national anthem being played,” Harris told the crowd in Hawaii, sparking a lengthy standing ovation.
“Hearing the words, ‘the land of the free and home of the brave’ means something special for every American, every day,” he later added. “But today, on Dec. 7, it takes on extraordinary significance.”
Video posted to YouTube by the Department of Defense showed countless servicemen and -women — smiling, whistling and applauding loudly — following Harris’ comments.
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Some of the old vets had to plant canes and walkers to surge to their feet for the standing ovation. Others just had to sit taller in the saddle in their wheelchairs. You can see the full speech here.
There’s a class of people out there that doesn’t understand, in its spirit, that this is a fresh wind blowing for a free people — a citizen soldiery that is reluctant to arms, and reticent but heartfelt in national pride.
That denatured, non-understanding class has been ruling the public mind for too long.
Meanwhile, instead of withdrawing their support from one thing after another, the unassuming people who never take a knee, and never fail to stand, are grateful to have things to applaud again.
Maybe the NFL will figure that out. Until they do, we have a lot of other rewarding things to give our attention and endorsement to.
God bless America. Let freedom ring.
