Staff Editorial
University Daily Kansan (U. Kansas)
(U-WIRE) LAWRENCE, Kan. -- It's not a mystery why 21-year-old Toni Smith has come under criticism. Smith, a women's basketball player for Division III Manhattanville College, turns away from the American flag during the "Star-Spangled Banner" before each of her team's games. Critics think it's disrespectful not only to America, but to everyone who has died for the flag that represents our country.
What Smith is doing is not stupid or treasonous. If anything, it's ironic that she turns her back on the symbol that represents her ability to turn her back at all. It certainly isn't wrong. We should be more supportive of people like Smith who have the guts to stand up for what they believe, especially if it's through peaceful protest.
Smith said she could not, "in good conscience, salute the flag" because she believed the government was out to expand its own power rather than better the quality of life for its people.
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"It is my right as an American to stand for my beliefs the way others have done against me," she said. "Being patriotic cannot simply be an empty slogan."
She said those who disagreed with her should recognize her right to act patriotically by making individual decisions. What's impressive is the way her school responded. Richard A. Berman, Manhattanville president, said that the college requested that views such as Smith's be expressed and received respectfully.
"It is irrelevant whether I, or anyone else, agrees or disagrees with Ms. Smith's position," he said. "Her right of expression is fundamental and we support her."
It's courageous that Smith still turns her back on the flag after enduring an entire basketball season of hecklers in the crowd and people protesting her. It's courageous that she still does it after getting into fights with her teammates and having people run onto the court waving flags in her face.
Which is worse: a person who exercises the right to protest or a person who thinks that anyone who disagrees is a dirty anti-American? It's interesting that she plays for the Valiants, a word associated with courage.
Smith's views and actions may be controversial, but even those who disagree need to recognize that she has the right to do it.
