Worshipping the State

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                                                      Yay!!! That's my kid!!!

So today one of my kids had a high school tennis match against Air Academy High School, which is located on the grounds of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Air Academy almost exclusively serves the children of military families. When my daughter's team arrived at the site, the Air Academy coach told them that "The Star-Spangled Banner" would be played at 4:45pm, as it is played at that time every day at the academy, and that all players "had to" stop playing as soon as it started, turn toward the loudspeaker, and place their hands on their hearts. My daughter was not particularly impressed to have her match interrupted mid-rally by the national anthem blaring and considered taking a knee, but she decided instead to simply stand still and ignore the proceedings. I love independent thinkers! Every other player and coach snapped to attention, faced the loudspeaker, and put their hand on their heart.
       My kid's response was considered almost sacrilegious. After the match, a teammate's father and former Navy SEAL said to her, "You do know what this is about, don't you? It's about supporting the troops." My daughter, ever self-assured and undaunted, responded, "Yes, I know what it's about."
       One of the reasons my child did not conform is because the US provides military assistance to 73% of the world's dictatorships. Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization dedicated to expanding democracy around the world, categorized 49 countries as "dictatorships" as of 2015. The US, courtesy of our taxes, provides military assistance to 36 of them (~73.5%) in the form of providing U.S. military training or through military sales and deliveries. As a family, we do not support every action taken by US troops. We opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq. To be fair, the troops were merely following instructions, but we do not agree with the decisions made. My kid said she feels it's noble to give one's life for a just cause and she can support individual troops, but she doesn't support all that the military does. Also, she is a globalist and is not attracted to nationalistic behavior.
       Two of the three badly behaved sports parents, Angry Papa and Sour Mama, whom I described elsewhere in my blog, are Air Academy parents, as was grumpy old "Grouper Face", Sour Mama's unpleasant friend. My kid apparently also blew off the jingoism in her freshmen year at a match at Air Academy, and those douchebags parents were present. Apparently some of the parents yelled at her. I didn't know about that until today, but now I finally understand why they were so perplexingly hostile to her when she later played their kids. Anyone who bullies a 14-year-old immediately loses my respect. Those parents have no credibility in terms of demanding compliance with their "values". They are bullies, and they represent everything that my daughter stood against today.