EDITOR:

Every Saturday, 10,000 babies are murdered under the banner of Planned Parenthood. No news media reports this atrocity. Instead they acquiesce to an organization called Black Lives Matter. If you suggest not only black lives matter, but all lives matter, you will be called a racist. If you don’t believe this, look up what the organization, Black Lives Matter, touts as their platform.

NFL players are attempting to show unity under this same banner, as though calling for social justice. They choose to stay inside when the National Anthem is played and if they don’t stay inside, many think it’s OK to kneel instead of stand.

Did you know seven of these NFL players fathered 58 kids with 52 different women and no news media covers this story. Nobody even “bats an eye.” Somehow, this behavior has become viewed as normal. Maybe they should get on both knees.

What does our Flag represent? Simply put, it stands for every freedom this country was founded on, which, if you haven’t noticed, we are beginning to lose. If you don’t believe this either, call your Governor and have a conversation.

For all the sports stars who think Black Lives Matter is far more important than the U.S. flag, allow me to share why you have freedom in the first place:

Ask any person who has visited the memorial at Pearl Harbor, what happens to them when they walk into the memorial, and they see the names listed on the wall.

Ask any person what happens to them when they visit the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. Particularly, ask them what happens to them emotionally when they look for the name on the wall that they knew personally.

Ask any person what happens to them when they visited Normandy, France and see what the cost was for American lives when they stormed that beach… because our freedom was worth that price.

Ask any person who has visited Arlington National Cemetery what emotions surface when the sea of white crosses they see for the first time seem to stare back at you. You can almost hear the last words spoken by the young soldier, telling their buddy that is holding their hand that they want to tell their mother that, more than anything, they love her and always will. All of this because of that flag.

Finally, attend a military funeral and watch the flag being folded in their honor and given to the young mother of three, her tears screaming just how much our flag is worth.

No, taking a knee or staying inside during the national anthem is not acceptable. No. Black Lives Matter comes nowhere near the value of the American flag. Lastly, stand. Stand we must. Why? Because there have been over two million U.S. lives lost to the cause of war. If you don’t want to stand for the reason you have what you have, may God open your eyes and heart.

Mike Cousineau

Escanaba