Booing our National Anthem, "Inclusion" defined and hiring based strictly on merit
Trump's insistence on conquering Canada led to the biggest ice hockey audience ever
ON PATRIOTIC DISPLAYS ... My dad taught me that when the National Anthem is being played at a sporting event or a high school graduation or some other gathering that I should place my hand over my heart in memory of all those brave soldiers who fought alongside him in World War II.
And so I do.
I get especially choked up when an American Olympic gold medal winner, like Davis's own Cathy Carr or Denise Curry, take the victory stand as our flag is raised and The Star Spangled Banner is played for all the world to see.
But I also respect seeing the reverence those from other countries show when their national anthems are being played as well.
I especially like the beautiful words of "O Canada" from our proud northern neighbors, which I'll share here:
"O Canada,
Our home and native land
True patriot love in all of us command
With glowing hearts we see thee rise
The True North strong and free
From far and wide
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee
God keep our land glorious and free
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee."
So, I watched with dismay during the thrilling 4 Nations Face-Off as Canadian ice hockey fans booed the "Star Spangled Banner" when the U.S. met Canada in Montreal, with the insult returned in the championship game in Boston when American fans booed "O Canada."
The ugly dispute fueled entirely by the arrogantly ridiculous pronouncement from a sitting American president that he plans to annex the entire vastness of Canada, Moosehead and all, and make it the 51st U.S. state.
Canada, as it turns out, has temporarily had the last word. At least in hockey (see video).
INCLUSION IS NOT A DIRTY WORD ... I can't understand why a president, a governor, a mayor or a high school algebra teacher would have trouble with the word "inclusion."
As a leader, great or small, wouldn't you wish to include everyone whose welfare you hold in your hands?
As a Christian, I find it shocking when others of my faith mock "inclusion" as if it were one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
And yet, the most quoted person in all of human history, Jesus Christ, preached "inclusion" at every turn.
As the Cambridge Dictionary so simply, yet accurately and beautifully, defines "inclusion," it is "The act of including someone."
Amen.