(ThyBlackMan.com) Former Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva was the only Pittsburgh Steeler standing for the national anthem last Sunday while his cowardly coach and teammates hid in their locker room.
Millions saw the stoic face of Villanueva as he stood alone outside the team tunnel at Soldier Field with his hand over his heart. The action was both patriotic and courageous. His decision to break ranks even shamed Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger – the presumed team leader.
Roethlisberger said he regrets that the team didn’t stand on the field during the “Star-Spangled Banner.” He said he was “unable to sleep” because of the team’s choice.
But the next day, Villanueva looked like a shell of himself as he expressed his regrets. He said: “I made coach (Mike) Tomlin look bad. … I made my teammates look bad and that’s my fault.” Villanueva also said, “Every single time I see that picture of me standing by myself, I feel embarrassed.”
How sad. It was apparent that Villanueva was pressured to issue the humiliating statement. To the contrary, the coach – who is black – and Villanueva’s teammates are the ones who should be embarrassed for refusing to come out and stand like men. By caving in and going along with evil, Villanueva weakened his soul and shut off the blessings that would have opened up for him as a result of standing for what is right.
At one point in my life, I was afraid to stand up for what I believed in. I valued material things and “friendships” above what was right. One of the worst things a person can be afflicted with is anger, and one of the fruits of anger is fear. Everyone who has anger also has fear.
After years of suffering, I asked God to show me why I lacked the courage to do what was right. At the age of 38, God revealed to me that I had anger and needed to forgive my parents for their failures. When you resent (hate) others, you become like what you hate.
As I forgave my parents, God forgave me and took away my anger; fear left with it. As I write about in my book, “The Antidote,” going to face my mother to apologize for hating her was one of the toughest things I have ever done, but as the Bible says, “Perfect love cast out fear.” Since I forgave, I have had perfect peace and no fear for 27 years. My life has unfolded in ways I could have never planned nor imagined.
When you love what is right, God is with you, and when the children of the lie attack you, you’re able to endure and stand strong. As Christians, it’s our responsibility to tell the truth and make the children of the lie “look bad.” By doing this, maybe some will repent and overcome their wicked ways.
I have found that when you stand for what is right, you will usually be standing alone, but God is always with you when you take a stand for what is just.
Just think: Where would we be if Jesus backed away from the truth because people didn’t like him, or because he was afraid to stand alone?
As I’ve stated before, President Trump is unafraid of the consequence of speaking the truth and taking a stand, and he is having an amazing impact on this nation. He stands firm in what he knows is right even if he has to stand alone. It reminds me of a great quote attributed to President Andrew Jackson (whom Donald Trump admires): “One man with courage makes a majority.”
So true! Donald Trump handled the NFL kneeling controversy beautifully. For years, NFL fans have been threatening to boycott the league ad nauseam, yet nothing changed until Trump. He blasted the rotten NFL players for disrespecting the flag and shamed the weak billionaire owners. During a speech in Alabama, Donald Trump said, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b—h off the field right now? Out! He’s fired!”
He didn’t mention anything about race, yet the corrupt liberal media and the radical NFL Players Association tried to silence Trump by implying that his comments were “racist.” When that didn’t work and they saw that that most Americans agree with Trump, the kneeling nonsense during the anthem all but ceased. Now the players are saying that the protests had nothing to do with the flag, of course!
Most black NFL players would rather kneel and blame “white supremacy” rather than telling the truth to other blacks.
The weak owners have allowed a radical leftist agenda to creep in under the guise of “social justice.” And the left is using the players to destroy the NFL, just like they have tried to destroy the military and other American institutions that embody masculinity and patriotism.
The courage to speak out and stop evil is missing in most Americans today, and our nation is suffering for it. But it only takes one man with courage to change the odds and alter the course of history.
Written by Jesse Lee Peterson
Official website; http://twitter.com/JLPtalk
