Respect for Veterans Quotes
He was reacting to the protest of professional football player Colin Kaepernick—Quote 643305. Instead of standing and saluting as professional athletes have done for decades before games, Kaepernick had kneeled and refused to stand as a protest about the large number of unarmed Black young men who had been killed by police. . This caused great public criticism but also some initial support. Athletes who did this were potentially risking their multimillion dollar salary as this technically violated their contract to avoid anything embarrassing to the team. He also donated $1 million to programs in the area that were working to enhance Black/white understanding. Even those who disagreed with his choice of protest defended his right to do so, and after the initial furor, public opinion, while not in agreement about his method, tended to support him for having the courage of his convictions and using his celebrity for a worthy cause. Barnett was critical without appearing to denigrate the cause for which Kaepernick had protested or his right to protest.
Congress established Armistice Day as a federal holiday in 1938. In 1954, the holiday was renamed “Veterans Day,” expanding its scope to include veterans of all U.S. wars. Twelve years later, Congress once again altered the holiday and moved the observation of the historic anniversary to the fourth Monday in October. Moving the solemn day angered veterans’ groups, and 46 states refused to comply with the federal holiday change. Congress reconsidered. In 1975, the House passed a bill returning the holiday to its traditional day of observation, November 11. What is ironic is that the “tradition” which Daniels and others wanted to keep, had only been created in 1938. In the historical “tradition” of America, there was no holiday to memorialize Veterans. In this case 35 years was sufficient to establish a “hallowed tradition.”
