These last few months there have been on overload of controversy on Goshen’s campus regarding the National Anthem. Personally I feel that when something is this controversial to the school, I as a student should take time to understand both sides. That is exactly what I did. At first it was hard for me to get involved with this subject. First this was a challenge because as a middle child, I am a big peacemaker and just want everyone to get along I dislike conflict and do not like to get in the middle of it. Secondly it was hard for me to find a personal stance on subject, and it required a lot of thought and information to make a choice on what I believed.
I first started paying more attention to this subject after Goshen made the decision to play the National Anthem at basketball and baseball games. Following the announcement of this happening there were many discussions help talking about the subject. I tried to attend as many as possible. At these discussions I took notes about how different people felt and represented the issue. Outside of these meetings I had great talks with many students and faculty about their personal thoughts on the subject. The most interesting part of this to me was how personal it was to everyone. It seemed that everyone I talked to and everyone one who spoke at the public discussions had a personal beliefs behind the stance they took on the subject. It was so interesting to hear everyone’s response and thoughts on the issue. This made me realized how important it is to understand two sides of issues no matter what you believe. Some words that the President stated helped me a lot in making my personal choice. In on of his press releases about the subject he stated:
"The crux of the matter has to do with our relationship with God and with our country. We are asking ourselves such questions as: how should faithful Christians order their allegiances? How do we celebrate the freedoms and opportunities of this country and still challenge injustices that also exist in our midst? And how does a church college retain its historic peace heritage while welcoming an increasingly diverse student body from other traditions?”
This quote make me think about lot about how I myself can be welcoming to peers, professors and future students of different backgrounds and beliefs. Also I do believe in a peaceful lifestyle but I think our freedoms should be remembered. There is quote in the Bible where Jesus is talking and says give to Cesar what is Cesar and give to the Lord what is the Lord’s. I found this to be helpful too in my own process of understanding this issue. I came to the thought that my country is the USA. I am proud of being an American because God chose for me to be here. If I were an Olympic athlete and won, when I got on the podium I would want them to play our National Anthem. Also I want to honor the fact that people have fought for me to go to a Mennonite college and go to a church I chose without going to jail for it. That doesn’t change how I feel about war, peace or pacifism.
I started this process for the reason of being more political. It ended up being very helpful me personally. The most interesting part was being able to hear so many different sides of the issue. From public talks, to reading the Record to the actual playing of the National Anthem at the baseball game, it all was a learning experience.
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