One has a right to protest by not standing for the anthem. I would defend that right, but IMHO there are much more effective ways to protest. A protest that centers around disrespect for the flag and/or the national anthem alienates many would be supporters right off the bat. Bcat2 mentioned last year Sgt. William Carney of the famed 54th Massachusetts who received the Medal of Honor in the Assault on Ft. Wagner (featured in the movie, "Glory").
His MOH citation said, in part, "When the color sergeant was shot down, this soldier grasped the flag, led the way to the parapet, and planted the colors thereon. When the troops fell back he brought off the flag, under a fierce fire in which he was twice severely wounded."
Legend has it that when Sgt. Carney reached his lines, he handed off the flag to another soldier, and then stumbled to the ground and said to those around him, "Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground!"
To me, when one disrespects the flag, one is disrespecting the sacrifices of men like Sgt. Carney. You may disagree, and that's OK. But, I'm simply telling you how I feel about this, and I sense I'm not alone in this feeling.
Again, I'll fight for your right to disrespect the flag and/or the anthem, but I disagree with your decision to do so.
Sgt. Carney's actions at Ft. Wagner were later made into a popular song around the turn of the 20th Century. The original version of the song made it quite clear that he was a colored soldier. Shamefully, around 1920 a completely sanitized version was put out that completely erased any reference to the soldier's ethnicity. This was the version almost exclusively used post 1920.
Here, for your perusal are the original lyrics:
One night on Southern battlefields,
down where Fort Wagner lay,
A regiment of black men fought,
The Blue against the Gray.
As the sun sank slowly in the West
A thunderstorm and gale
Wept tears to see the brave black troops
Shot down by leaden hail.
A negro saw the old flag fall
And threw his gun away
To grasp the falling colors staff
And lead them to the fray.
'Twas the Blue against the Gray, Boys,
And he said to all around
"I've only done my duty boys,
The old Flag never touch'd the ground."
"I've only done my duty, boys"
He said to all around,
"I've only done my duty boys,
The old Flag never touch'd the ground."
Around the dead and dying lay;
He reach'd the parapet,
The old flag never touched the ground,
As kneeling he held it yet.
The old flag did not bite the dust,
Where the bold black hero lay;
Two armies battled for the fort,
The Blue against the Gray
Amid the awful slaughter there,
he said to all around,
"I've only done my duty, boys,
It did not touch the ground."
The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA
"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."
Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at:
http://www.78ohio.org