May we be grateful and respect those who have and are fighting for our country

Not everyone has the freedom to speech, religion, press, assembly or petition.

But Americans do. 

My heart is breaking over what is happening in Afghanistan. To those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, to their families and to those who are getting killed for being Christian. 

Their hardships make me realize how blessed we are to be American. We can say what we want, do what we want, believe what we want and go to school where we want. We wouldn’t be able to do these things without those who fought for our freedom. 

To the veterans who have served in Afghanistan since 2001, your service does not go unnoticed. Your courageous actions after 9/11 will forever be remembered. You left your families, friends, your wife or husband and did what had to be done. 

You fought for our country. You helped us young ones learn about patriotism, what it means to be American and how to get up after tough stuff happens, like the horrific day of 9/11. 

My heart is hurting for our soldiers who have been seriously injured or paid the ultimate sacrifice of their lives to our country this past week.

To the service members who lost their lives near Karzai International Airport — 11 U.S. Marines, one Navy Sailor and one Army soldier — your strength, enthusiasm and love for our country is inspiring. 

We need to be grateful for all they have sacrificed for us.

There were players who would kneel and be ungrateful during the playing of the national anthem: what a shame. The national anthem pays respect to those who have risked their lives, those who have been injured and those who made the ultimate sacrifice to the United States of America. 

Although these athletes are kneeling or sitting as a way to use their “voice”, I believe they can use other platforms for the issues they are advocating for. At the Olympics, there were a couple of U.S. players that would kneel for the national anthem — their own team.

It is frustrating. You are competing at the highest level and you decide to kneel for your national anthem. 

I think about those who have fought, are currently active and those who have been struggling since the end of their active duty. I think of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and then I think of those who sit or kneel for the national anthem. 

I hope in the coming games, athletes realize what is going on in the world and decide to stand and put their hand on their heart. If you are not standing with your hand on your heart, you should not be on the team. 

Be respectful.

You should be proud to be an American. You should be grateful for everything you got thanks to your freedom. 

In the wise words of country singer Kip Moore, “We live in a place where we roll up to any church we want to attend (while drinking our almond milk latte). We leave there to meet up with friends for our 1 p.m. brunch and mimosas. We wake up the following day and we complain. We’re an outraged bunch.” 

And by outraged bunch he means ungrateful, greedy and selfish. We can go to whatever church, drink our fancy coffees and then can go out with friends afterwards. Then Monday comes and we are an ungrateful bunch again. 

If you think about it, we need to be less outraged. We need to be grateful toward those who have served or are serving for our country. We need to wake up in the mornings and cherish everything we’ve got: a nice roof over our heads, food on the table, good company and an amazing country. I hope next time we feel ungrateful, we think about those who sacrifice holidays, birthdays and anniversaries to protect our country. 

We live in the land of the free because of the brave.