Blasphemy

I've been observing the recent uproar in the USA over the last few days around sports people standing (or not) for their national anthem. The Donald has suggested that football players who don't stand should be "fired" (does he think he's still on The Apprentice?) and subsequently, most football players deliberately didn't stand this weekend in protest. It's interesting to see how different cultures deal with perceived blasphemies against their little rituals and conventions, even supposedly secular states like the USA have an almost religious attitude toward such things. 

It is a contradiction of a rather idiotic kind of course, the whole point about liberty and freedom of speech is having the right to blaspheme against such conventions when you believe an injustice has occurred, the right-wing, conservative detractors in this argument are rallying against the very thing they claim is sacred, i.e. individual freedom. One the one hand it's great to see masses of people defying the president in this way, it harms his credibility and makes him look like the fool he so clearly is. On the other hand though, there is nothing as dangerous or spiteful as a cornered rat, I hope the US system is robust enough to keep this ego-maniac at arms length (i.e. ignored) for another 3 years.