THIS Is The America I Love – Roofers Stop Working To Respect Our Anthem

I moved to the United States when I was 12. I had never been here before. The moment I stepped off that plane was the first time I had set foot on American soil. It was also one of the most important moments of my life. I knew, at that moment, that my life would be blessed forever.

To this day, my eyes well up every time I hear our Anthem. For me, it represents the opportunity and freedom I’ve been granted, and the men and women who have died to protect it. While our nation may not be perfect (no place is) we strive, together, for a more perfect union, every day. In a vast nation filled with so many different people, the love and acknowledgement of everything we are blessed with should bring us together.

It no longer does.

Which is why this picture truly lifted my spirit:

The caption reads:

Standing for the National Anthem at the Old Town Waterville football game today and from behind the stands we hear, ‘Hey, look! They aren’t kneeling.’ When I turn to see who said it, this is what I saw…three men roofing a house and respecting the flag. #classyroofers #nokneelinginWaterville

What a beautiful image.

Fox News had this to add:

Three Maine roofers put their hammers down and stood up to show respect for the national anthem on Saturday, in the process unknowingly posing for a photo that’s been used to symbolize one side of the contentious nationwide debate about “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

 

The roofers, who were working near Waterville High School’s football field, stood for the national anthem “even though they didn’t have to,” Michelle Lyons Cossar, the Old Town resident who snapped the photo, told Fox News on Monday.

 

While Cossar was standing for the anthem prior to the start of Saturday’s game, she said she heard someone in the stands point out the workers had also risen.

 

“When I looked over the fence, I saw them standing and respecting the flag,” she said.

 

That’s when she decided to take a picture.

 

“I just thought the world could use a little more of that right now,” she added.

Cossar’s photo has been shared nearly 600 times as of Monday afternoon.

The three men in the photo are Dwayne Harrison, Danny Thyng, and James Scruggs, according to Cossar.

 

Harrison, who is on the far right in the photo, told Fox News that standing for the anthem was the “right thing to do.”

 

“It is a respect thing for myself — we did not do this to prove a point,” Harrison said, adding that he wasn’t aware that a picture was taken.

 

Thyng and Scruggs have not responded to a request for comment.

 

Shanon Gurski Dixon, a resident of Waterville, shared the Cossar’s picture to her Facebook page. She told Fox News she hopes to one day find and thank the men for “being such good role models to our youth.”

They didn’t do it to send a message. They did it because it’s the right thing to do.

These men are roofers – some of the hardest workers out there. THEY understand how blessed we are to be Americans… unlike a certain group of millionaires who are lionized for playing a game.