Steve Frey
Ah, Saturday morning’s of old: You didn’t have school; you had a bowl of delicious, sugary cereal you could enjoy without your conscience bothering you; and you got to hear the “William Tell Overture.”
For those too young to remember, the William Tell Overture was the theme to “The Lone Ranger.”
The Lone Ranger was a television show about a dedicated lawman in the old west and his faithful sidekick, Tonto. They were the good guys, and even though he wore a mask, he and Tonto stood for the same things that Superman (another ancient black and white show.) did: “truth, justice and the American way [of life].”
This column isn’t about the Lone Ranger or Tonto, but it is partly about William Tell, and it is definitely about truth, justice and the American way. Let me explain.
The William Tell legend goes back hundreds of years. Tell was Swiss, and the people of his country were tormented by a cruel Austrian governor named Albrecht Gessler. Gessler wanted to make sure the Swiss knew who was in charge, so he placed his hat on top of a pole, and everyone passing had to bow to that hat the same as if he were there.
Tell was a rugged mountain man renowned for his skill with a crossbow. He came into town with his son, Robert, and when told he had to bow to the hat refused, so Gessler had him arrested.
Gessler told him that if he could shoot an apple off his son’s head with the crossbow, he would free him. Tell did just that, but then a second arrow fell from under his coat. Gessler asked him what it was for, and Tell told him that if he had killed his son, that arrow was for him.
Long story short, Tell escaped, later killed Gessler with his crossbow and the Swiss rose up and kicked the Austrians out of their country.
Now fast-forward about 600 years to 1930’s Hamburg, Germany.
There is a picture that you may have seen floating around the internet of a lone man with crossed arms in a sea of hundreds, refusing to make the Nazi salute like everyone else. Some believe it was August Landmesser.
Prior to his refusal to salute, Landmesser had fallen in love and wanted to marry a Jewish woman, Irma Eckler, but it was outlawed by the government. He had reason to be angry with the Nazis.
Landmesser and Eckler remained together anyway and had two children. He was then arrested and sent to a concentration camp.
Irma was also sent to a concentration camp where she was murdered. August was placed in a prison army unit and killed in action.
So what do William and August have in common? They both protested against injustice.
That brings us to today.
Tomorrow, June 14, is Flag Day. Many of us will proudly fly our flags in front of our homes to show our love for America.
But it is not just the cloth flag we are saluting. The flag is the symbol of truth, justice and American ideals. It embodies the Constitution and all that our country has stood for since its inception.
Just like William and August though, there are some who are concerned with injustices in America. No, there’s no comparison with Nazi Germany, but many feel there are still instances of inequality in America that should be addressed.
Black football players, for example, have protested racial injustice by kneeling during the National Anthem. As American citizens, the Constitution grants them freedom of speech and expression.
Should they be forced to stand? Should William Tell and August Landmesser have acted differently in their situations?
The players are protesting racial inequity, but some have twisted this to be disrespect for the military, the anthem and the flag, though they have vehemently emphasized their support.
The flag is a symbol. The anthem is also representative of our government. Among other things, they signify our ability to speak freely and yes, to protest.
Sometimes people like to shift the focus when they disagree and label other folks, but freedom of speech and expression are not conservative, liberal, Democratic or Republican notions; they are the rights of ALL Americans guaranteed under the Constitution.
Many thousands of men and women have died to protect those rights, but today the players who protested have been called vile names, and it’s been suggested that they leave the country. That isn’t truth, justice and the American way, is it?
It would seem that a majority of Americans agree that it isn’t.
According to a Quinnipiac poll last week, 58 percent of American voters indicated that “NFL players who kneel in protest aren’t being unpatriotic in doing so;” 35 percent felt they are unpatriotic.
Evidently, the vast majority of Americans have not accepted the bombast that the players are disrespecting the flag, anthem or military.
Respondents also said that professional athletes have the right to protest on the playing field by a 53-43 margin. That may be an ultimate decision for the courts if the players continue to protest and the NFL chooses to punish them.
Let’s remember what the flag and anthem represent on this Flag Day. They stand for freedom for all Americans. They represent the hopes of patriots who have stood guard over those freedoms, often sacrificing their lives to preserve them.
This Flag Day let’s not forget that we all have to guard those freedoms for all of our fellow citizens.
We should always protect the freedoms that set us apart from the restrictions millions have experienced over the centuries elsewhere. Remember, in many places, protesters are jailed or killed.
Yes, there will always be opposition to protests; disagreement and discussion are core tenets of our republic. But as John F. Kennedy said, “Without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeed, and no republic can survive.”
There’s one thing all Americans can agree on: the importance of the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution—freedoms we must never take for granted.
When children recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school, they end with the words “with liberty and justice for all.” It is up to all of us to ensure that those words are America’s everyday reality. It’s the American way.
Steve Frey is a writer and CEO of Ascendant Educational Services based in Radford.
