By Joe Joe Wright

joejoe.wright@cordeledispatch.com

I know that there are other people that have been here longer than me. However, whenever you start coaching or officiating kids of the kids you coached or you see kids grown with gray hair or God forbid some grandkids. Well then you are officially OLD!

As you spend these years engaged in the instruction of sports you hope that you make an impact on them in some positive way. In my case I hope that if they didn’t learn anything about sports or teamwork from me that they at least learned one thing. It doesn’t matter if you are democrat or republican, it matters not if you are liberal, independent or conservative. You can worship Allah, Jesus or Buddha. You can say that big eyed little creatures known as aliens really rule the world. You can be a man named Zebidiah Jerome Antonius Wright the III but you identify as a woman named Sarah Elizabeth Mary Wright. I really don’t care which you are but if you also identify as an American then listen real close. You might be the Governor, the President, a Judge or a US Senator or anyone else.

When the national anthem is played or the Pledge of Allegiance is recited you are required by protocol to remove your hat and put your hand over your heart. This is my single biggest pet peeve and apparently it is my cousins as well. The one thing about being a free society is that you can worship as wish. If you hate your country so much that you can’t be a loyal subject to the principles for which it stands then shame on you. You should be removed from this country as far as I am concerned you are what are known as a domestic enemy.

America is not perfect by no means we have boatloads of issues to deal with but millions of men and women paid a terrible price for you to be able to even go watch a ball game. So stand up and put your hand over your heart.

I hope all the kids that played for me learned to at least be respectful for anthem and our flag. I am certain that many folks see the flag and the anthem as symbols of our sometimes-oppressive government. Nothing could be farther from the truth those symbols are representative of the citizens of the United States in whom the power of our Republic rest. I encourage all that have never read the US Constitution to do so, it might just enlighten you to a whole new outlook on this land we call America. We can all agree to disagree but the Flag stands for Freedom and only we the people can take that away. As always I welcome your comments…