The County Line
At the risk of sparking a controversy, I want to make a suggestion on a subject you could call ‘respect.’ The type of respect I’m talking about is respect for the American flag by practicing the time honored tradition of placing the right hand over the heart during the playing of the national anthem.
At a recent high school basketball game I could not help but notice that members of the home team did not place their hands over the heart. Hundreds of fans likely observe team members during some part of the national anthem.
The U.S. Flag Code calls upon Americans to stand, face the flag and place their right hand over their heart during the playing of the anthem. There is no enforcement provision in the code. It’s just a good recommended practice to follow. Of course there are many folks who don’t follow the tradition.
But, members of sports teams are representatives of their schools and role models for fellow students and younger people who will often do what they see team members do.
Most of our sports team members follow rules of good behavior, get good grades and are on the road to becoming successful, model citizens. So, it should not be difficult to incorporate this simple sign of respect into routine behavior.
Either in school or at home, you’d hope that youngsters would be taught this sign of respect for their flag and nation. If no one else encourages this simple but symbolic gesture, perhaps coaches should remind their team members of this practice.