The choice to sit, kneel, boo, raise a fist, or any other form of protest during your country's national anthem is not as unusual, or uniquely American, as NFL comment feeds would lead us to believe. 

 Following is a brief list of anthem protests in other countries. The reasons are varied, from ideological fault with the lyrics to offense by the composer to issue with the country's social systems. As with all protests, public sentiment is divided. 

 These international anthem protests have at least one thing in common: they occur in countries that value freedom of speech. 

 Notable countries that did not make this list include the Philippines, where failure to sing with gusto could lead to imprisonment (and capital punishment without trial is the new normal), North Korea (where political prison camps are full of people who have no idea what they did to get there), China, where refusal to stand solemnly means detention, at minimum, and India, where perceived disrespect toward the anthem could lead to years in prison. 

 Once we establish national anthem protest as a valid expression of free speech in a healthy democracy, perhaps we can move on to discuss the real issues behind these protests.

 1. Switzerland: where the German-sourced Swiss Psalm was voted out for a version that can be sung in all four national languages. 
Swiss soccer players, not singing the national anthem
2. Germany: where some just hum the national anthem for fear of being too patriotic, or giving credence to a past of Nazi nationalism, which led to the first and second verses being struck from public recognition. 

 3. England: where a desire to identify apart from Scotland and Wales could inspire the British to boo "God Save the Queen," until England gets its own national anthem. 
Jeremy Corbyn, British politician, not singing "God Save the Queen"
4. Australia: where indigenous citizens and high-profile athletes protest the racist undertones of "Advance Australia Fair." 

 5. France: where booing the national anthem is a form of protest against divisive social classes and racial unrest. 

 6. Spain: where Catalans and Basques regularly whistle or boo the national anthem as a bid for independence.  
Catalonian protest during Spain's national anthem

Americans, let us not align with the punitive false patriotism of countries who suppress free speech in favor of silence and outward reverence. 

For those who have a different race reality than what our national anthem and ideals represent, it's time to dialogue about why that is, and what to do about it.
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When people ask my opinion on public education today, I don't know what to tell them. Can a farmer whirling about in a twister issue comprehensive national climatology reports? 

For the record, on this year's penultimate day of school, that tornado analogy proved more than figurative. A storm 6 miles north of campus dispatched exterior classes to interior rooms for shelter as every cell phone in the building blared alerts. For the first time in two years, I felt gratitude for the windowless, cinder block walls that surround me 9 ½ hours each day.

Two students screamed as our power blinked into darkness. Why would 13-year-olds scream in a completely safe, calm environment? Just because. And this became a daily perplexion for me.

Shortly after interviewing for a position at our local junior high, I raced the principal through a game of phone tag with references.

Wally and I were invited to share a reflection at From His Heart, our parish blog, on the Mass readings for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time. This week, we invited the kids to join us.

Each Sunday evening, Wally and I gather our kids into the living room for family prayer.

This week, I find myself writing with Jonathan, my 7-year-old, instead of Wally, my husband. Jonathan and I are reflecting on the Sunday Mass readings from an urgent care waiting room following a mishap on the monkey bars.

Between kids’ extracurricular activities, weird work schedules, Scout camping trips, and the surprises life is always throwing our way, it seems Wally and I haven’t had a moment alone together all week.

Wally and I were invited to share a reflection at From His Heart, our parish blog, on the Mass readings for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on our parish blog on the Mass readings for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

I like to think of myself on the "good" side of Bible stories―as Moses, ever trusting God, or as Paul, sacrificing everything for the Gospel, or as one of Jesus' devoted disciples.

But this Sunday's readings hold up a humbling mirror.

Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on our parish blog on the Mass readings for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

This Sunday's readings tell of rejected prophets, first Ezekiel in the Old Testament, then Jesus in the Gospel.

God warns Ezekiel his messages will be for "rebels… hard of face and obstinate of heart" (Ezekiel 2:2-5), so prideful they may not listen.

In the Gospel, Jesus is rejected by the very people who should know him best when He visits his hometown.

Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on our parish blog on the Mass readings for Corpus Christi Sunday.

Jesus gives strange instructions to his disciples in this Sunday’s Gospel reading:

“Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him.” 

(Mark 14:13)

Why would a man be carrying a jar of water? Only women carried jars of water.

Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on our parish blog on the Mass readings for the 5th Sunday of Easter.

After February's Arctic blast, which gifted southeast Texas with more snow and ice than we've seen in decades, spring brings a bittersweet reality. Our native plants just can't seem to recover. Orange, lemon, and lime trees sit starkly pruned. Even bushes with moderate cold tolerance need extra pruning this year.

Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on our parish blog on the Mass readings for Easter.

We laughed while reading the Easter Gospel passage. Right in the middle of the most important story John will ever tell—the Resurrection of Jesus—he mentions three times in three sentences that he arrived at the tomb first:

"They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on our parish blog on the Mass readings for the 3rd Sunday of Lent. 

What good is religion? Why be Catholic?

In this week's Gospel reading, we hear about people attracted to Jesus because of "the signs he was doing." Others were drawn to the temple as an easy way to make money off religion—"those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers" (John 2:13-25).

Wally and I were invited to share a reflection at our parish blog on the Mass readings for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Job is a brokenhearted person.

Wally and I were invited to share a reflection at our parish blog on the Mass readings for Epiphany Sunday:

On Epiphany, we celebrate the magi's visit to Jesus. This week's Gospel reading shares two very different responses to Jesus' birth:

King Herod is "greatly troubled" (Matthew 2:3). He is so upset at the announcement of this newborn king that he conspires to kill Jesus.

The magi are "overjoyed" (Matthew 2:10). They travel a long distance, then prostrate in worship before the Child Jesus.

Advice on life and motherhood can be confusing:

On the one hand, pregnant women are assured that nothing will change: You can still do it all with a baby! A baby won't take away your dreams!

On the other hand, they're told any personal ambitions outside of motherhood are ultimately insignificant: Being a mom is better than anything else in the world!

We need to be careful with our well-meaning platitudes.

Wally and I were invited to share a reflection at our parish blog on the Mass readings for the Second Sunday of Advent.

We're waiting… for a stack of Amazon boxes on the porch… for a COVID vaccine… for answers... for Christmas…

"...with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day." 

(2 Peter 3:8)

For many of us, 2020 feels more like 365,000 years than 365 days. And yet, we hear comfort in this week's Mass readings: God has purpose for our waiting.

Several years ago, the Los Angeles Times published an Op-Ed on secular family values, suggesting that children raised in non-religious homes are just as likely as their religious peers to develop "positive traits and virtues." It made me question my motives as a Catholic parent. Am I just raising my kids Catholic as an attempt to have "good" kids? But research says faith isn't necessary for that...

And it's true.

Catholic Americans seem to revel in polarization. Our country's two-party political system, which siphons the electorate into severely limited options, certainly doesn't help. But there's an accompanying divisive insistence, particularly among Catholics, that one secular party or the other holds exclusive claim to virtue and love for our homeland.

What we overlook in these claims of virtuous patriotism are integral components of piety and charity. In the words of St.

Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on the readings for Mass this Sunday, November 1, 2020, at From His Heart, our parish blog.

We celebrate a different saint nearly every day of the year. Some days, such as St. Patrick's on March 17, are more popular than others. (Anyone remember St. Isaac Jogues and St.

Two people show up unexpectedly as Jesus dies on the cross.

They're late in coming—but not too late.

It's Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, two of Jesus' secret disciples. To this point, they've only met privately with Jesus for fear that his friendship could destroy their hard-earned reputations and high rank on the Council. However, in the final hours of Jesus' life, something changes.

Centuries of tradition and artistic representation contemplate the sorrow of Mary receiving her Son's body from the cross.

I wonder if John and Mary Magdalene considered pulling Jesus' mother away until after his body was wrapped for burial. Such a tortured body would surely rupture her heart. Often, if a victim is badly hurt, a medical examiner will only allow discrete opportunities for family members to view or touch part of their loved one's body.
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Born and raised in Texas, I enjoy teaching, editing, and writing while raising 5 boys with my husband, Wally. I learned to love Scripture from my Baptist parents and liturgy from my Episcopal grandma. A personal interest in church history and social justice, as well as a desire for more tangible reverence in worship, led to my conversion to Catholicism in 2003. I graduated from the University of North Texas in 2004 with a Bachelor's in Communications and 2021 with a Master's in Education and Management. I've worked in the arts, administration, and education in the non-profit, private, and public sectors, as a full-time working mom, part-time working mom, work-from-home mom, and homeschooling mom. I'm passionate about social justice, ecumenism, history, special education, and helping others experience a personal, relevant connection to the Lord in their everyday lives.
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