Let’s all take pride - In AMERICA

OPINION:

As I walk into more and more corporate-owned stores this weekend, I am saddened by the lack of memory and respect shown this Memorial Day to those who gave their lives for our freedom. The last Monday in May should always bring great remembrance to those who laid down their lives, yet the corporations that used to take pride in America have now hurriedly taken pride in woke causes. 

I remember a time when all stores were decorated in May with American flags. Now, they are decorated with rainbow pride flags, and the only indicator of there being a holiday this weekend is some discount on a sign at the front. To Judeo-Christians, the rainbow is sacred and represents God’s covenant with the earth. But this sacred symbol has been hijacked by an LGBTQ agenda, and sadly, corporate America continues to perpetuate this narrative. 

Memorial Day should be a holiday that unites the country. Now, woke corporations overshadow this significant holiday by diverting their money and time to promoting the radical and divisive LGBTQ agenda that is pushing sexualization onto children.

Last year, Gallup released a poll that showed a record-low number (only 38%) of Americans who were proud to be our Nation’s citizens. Major businesses across America are putting the pro-American messaging on the back burner. They are taking a stand for the woke mob that consistently attacks the foundations of this country. 

Companies like Target, North Face, and Anheuser-Busch bowed a knee to the pride community, and instead of seeing the red, white, and blue that accompanies this holiday, we are seeing the rainbow flags that are preparing for pride month, as if they skipped this holiday altogether. 

And it is not just corporations; the attack on American values and complete shunning of a holiday meant to honor those who stood for this Country is arising in every facet of American’s lives. Even America’s pastime is seeing freedom-loving baseball fields turned into stadiums filled with woke indoctrination. Last year every MLB team, except the Texas Rangers, reportedly hosted a pride night in June 2022. This year, the L.A. Dodgers showed their true colors when they decided to stand with the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” an LGBTQ group that mocks Catholicism by dressing biological men up as “nuns.” Several National Hockey League players have recently stood up to their woke team owners as they refused to take the ice draped in gay pride jerseys. 

Corporations and sports teams alike are now experiencing the power of the free market, with those who have America First Values refusing to purchase their products and America First Athletes pushing back against a woke agenda. Look at Anheuser-Busch; after it tried to shift the Bud Light brand toward transgender promotion, it lost over $15 billion in market cap and is having trouble giving its beer away in some markets. Likewise, Target has already seen a $9 billion drop in market value in less than a week, as Christian Conservatives across the nation are calling for a boycott. 

The American people want to see a sincere love for the land of the free and a greater respect for the brave that gave their lives. The men and women we remember this holiday were wearing only one flag when they died in service—the flag of this great nation. That flag stands for all people. 

When Memorial Day was first celebrated in Waterloo, New York, the city saw businesses close and the graves of soldiers decorated.

Companies back then understood it; they recognized the sacrifices that these soldiers made. Throughout all of human history, putting one’s life on the line for one’s country has been recognized with great honor and respect. Jesus himself stated, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” 

This holiday commemorates that greatest love, and it is time that all Americans gather around those sacrifices. The fact that the L.A. Dodgers are now worth nearly $5 billion, or that Target has nearly 2,000 stores across the U.S., is a true testament to the American dream and the freedoms our Constitution preserves, freedoms that the fallen took an oath to support and defend. 

We owe it to those who gave their lives to honor that sacrifice. As a nation, let us put America First, by putting their sacrifice first in our hearts this Memorial Day and every Memorial Day after.

• Jack Brewer is a former NFL player and serves as chair of the Center for Opportunity Now at the America First Policy Institute. Cole Mushegan is a policy analyst in the Center for 1776 at the America First Policy Institute.