Most of you have heard the common expression, “He’s getting away with murder!” or some variant of that phrase. Essentially, it is an exclamation showing astonishment that a person can do something and not be punished or reprimanded for the act which seems so uncalled for. I find myself thinking this when hearing about current events in the U.S. as well as those which have erupted over the past few months. I am astonished.

I am amazed how so many people living in the U.S. can openly insult the country which is their home and publicly threaten officials of its government. The United States is one of the only countries in the world in which free speech, a unique right in and of itself, can easily turn into hate speech and often go unpunished and even unaddressed. And as history has taught us, anger-filled words tend to lead to anger-filled actions.

Thousands of Americans slander, smear, and disrespect the United States daily, and this really makes me wonder how many of them pause and consider what they are doing. This is the only major nation on Earth in which its citizens have the freedom to disrespect the very freedom that allows them to be so disrespectful. In so many other countries, citizens have been thrown in prison and killed for lesser offenses. But here in the land of the free and the home of the whiners, people can do almost anything they please. In comparison to countries such as North Korea, the United States is a garden of Eden in regards to legal limitations.

Particularly in recent times, the American people are taking the mile when given only an inch. They take their rights to extremes, pushing the boundaries to the verge of their allowance. Last year’s NFL games drew attention to political factors being played out prior to some of the games. Several teams chose to kneel during the national anthem, not to stand and recite the anthem. This resulted in a variety of emotions from spectators and later viewers, ranging from disgust to applause.

This was a blatant show of disrespect on the part of numerous players towards their homeland. They might as well have spat on the flag and thrown it to the dirt. I don’t care whether you are a fan of the President or not, but whatever happens, you show respect for your nation.

Once again, if the NFL players were thinking about what they were doing while down on their knees, it might have occurred to them that if they made a public display of disrespect in almost any other country they would have been harshly called out for it. In the U.S., however, they had groups of people cheering them on. The Dallas Cowboys actually made a firm stand in defense of the flag which is a sign that some people remain loyal to their country.

A much more recent example of free speech taken several steps too far happened at the 2018 Women’s March in Washington, D.C. During this march, many protesters felt the need to make terroristic threats with the signs they carried. For instance, one young protester had a sign which, in part, read as: “Kill Donald Trump Kill Mike Pence, It’s Guillotine Time…” Anyone who can read can see that’s a threat!

And if someone sent you a note like this, you would probably call the police for protection. Am I right? Well, President Trump refrains from doing this because, like almost every presidential predecessor, he has guards around him 24/7 while the threats come in almost just as consistently. If the American people do not sit down and think about their present liberties and capabilities in gratitude, the freedom found in this country is not going to thrive for long. We will lose what we have now. Then we shall an even bigger reason to complain.