Silently making lots of noise

Many of us would never have heard of Manhattanville, a tiny Division III college of 1,500, had Toni Smith's personal choice not made national news.\nAfter learning about the past and present ills of American society, Smith, a senior sociology major, decided to follow her heart and face away from the flag during the national anthem at her basketball games. In a statement, Smith told reporters she "cannot, in good conscience, salute the flag."\nSo, since the beginning of their season, Smith has done 180's during the anthem, preferring to look away rather than looking toward something that shook her conscience.\nWhen Manhattanville played the Merchant Marine Academy, the cadets waved flags and yelled, "leave our country."\nSmith is exactly what our country needs. She lets her conscience guide her, writes out a logical argument, expresses her dissent peacefully and sticks to her point when people tried to put her down. More people should be as thorough in their arguments.\nSome commentators are quick to call her disrespectful, naive, selfish and other disagreeable adjectives. These are misnomers for a much more simple situation. Until people started crying "foul" and placing her center stage, Smith's silent protest was personal. She got no more attention than the rest of her team until people began to loudly do what Smith had been silently doing for weeks -- disagree.\nWould any of those proud Merchant Marines really want to know someone who saluted the flag and didn't believe in it? In that scenario, Smith would be a liar. \nMost people's consciences would not let them lie to themselves in such a way.\nSmith's protest is about what America looks like to her. According to her statement, she believes the government is "only expanding its own power, and not bettering the quality of life for all its people."\nWar veterans and skeptics question Smith, saying she is disrespecting the flag because America is so much better than elsewhere, and she should be happy to be where she is.\nSmith is obviously not happy with America. She wants to make it better. And until it gets better, Smith will continue to face the direction she has been facing all season long -- away from the flag, and toward the future.\nWe as Americans need to find out what the problem is, not chastise her for pointing it out.\n-- George Lyle IV, Jessica Halverson, and Andrew LeMar \nBen Cunningham, Jason Gaddis, and Amy Orringer abstaining