Patriot Games?

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

 "PERFECTION is not attainable," said Vince Lombardi.  "But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence."

      "Sweetheart, they are different from the other teams."

      My girlfriend was not American and was only watching because of me.  Yet she could tell.

      "This is hard enough--doing the offense-defense drill--when the defense is not on the field.  He is making it look like they are not even there."

      Joe Montana and the 49ers had a saying:  "We are playing against perfection."  The team was not perfect.  But they touched excellence.  And it was a sight to behold.

     Or the land of the screed and the home of the knave?

     Now a man who never served--and mocks those who do--wraps himself in the flag.  Now the man, who stood before the wall at CIA Headquarters, and talked about himself, and ignored the stars of fallen officers, pretends to be a patriot.  A coward who heard about courage condemns--or ignores--those who have it.*

     Those who kneel during the National Anthem are not rebels without a cause.  They are reminding the smug what it means to be an American.  After all, the country's birth certificate is a document of dissent.  It was written because a monarch had refused to listen.  Dramatic action was the only way to get his attention.  And now, when a faulty selection process and bad training make it possible for some "peace officers" to kill unarmed American citizens, one must petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

      It is easy to point out our shortcomings because we put our ideals down on paper.  And it is hard to get back up after falling, only to rise and fall again--repeatedly.  But at least we used to make an effort.

      And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

      The United States of America is not perfect.  The Preamble demands continuous striving "in order to form a more perfect Union" so that WE THE PEOPLE can catch excellence.

      The haughty in high position may learn a lesson--with the blessing of Washington, Knox, and Hamilton--about humility in a forgotten report.

      Therefore, it ought to be a permanent rule, that those who in youth decline or refuse to subject themselves to the course of military education, established by the laws, should be considered as unworthy of public trust or public honors, and be excluded therefrom accordingly.^

 (c)2017 Marvin D. Jones.  All rights reserved. 
 
 
*https://youtu.be/VRUWtag5EFk

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-ducks-failure-to-address-green-beret-deaths-with-obama-lie-1074770499780

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/10/15/1707053/-Trump-s-Bullying-Backfires-NFL-To-Take-Up-Protestor-s-Cause

^http://www.marvinjones.blogspot.com/2013/08/much-is-required.html