Your Opinion: Disrespect for pledge, anthem

Dear Editor:

I recently attended the state of Missouri collectors meeting at the Capitol Plaza. These are all elected officials and their employees (all tax paid). They started the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and then the National Anthem.

The news is full of issues in public schools and other places whether to stand and put your hand over your heart is an issue. I watched a professional ball game last week, don't remember the team really, just caught the very beginning, America the Beautiful was sang and the crowd stood up and put their hands over their hearts. Well, their hearts were in the right place but not their heads, no pun intended.

This brings me to the collectors. During the Pledge I would guess over 90 percent put the hands over their hearts. Then the National Anthem and down they went. Less than 50 percent had their hands over their hearts during our National Anthem.

If possible, I would just like to understand why this many elected officials and their employees from all over the state of Missouri would show this disrespect to our National Anthem. Was it out of ignorance or pure disdain for this country? My hope is a rebuttal to this editorial. I am not a love-it-or-leave-it fanatic but come on! This was/is a state of Missouri county collectors sponsored event attended by adults being paid by tax money from the very country who's National Anthem they chose to either ignore, or disrespect.

I hope this editorial gets to every county in the state so that this question can be asked of these elected officials by the very citizens that put them in office and paid for this trip. Shame on them.