As the ideological Civil War in the U.S. rages on, it seems the national anthem is now being persecuted on American soil.
When Pamela Dee Gaudry, who is herself the wife of a late Navy captain, found out that the body of Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright was aboard her flight, she felt it was her duty to respectfully honor the life of Wright through the singing of the Star Spangled Banner.
“I thought it would be so amazing if we sang as they were getting off," Gaudry said in a Facebook video post. "It's a great honor to the boy's parents, wife and perhaps children.”
Gaudry did her due diligence by asking other passengers if they would join her in singing to commemorate Wright’s service as they exited the aircraft. While some decided not to join in, many enthusiastically agreed.
According to FOX 32 - Chicago:
As the flight was about to descend, Gaudry said the chief flight attendant came up to her and said it was against Delta's policy to sing the National Anthem. Gaudry said the staff then made an announcement telling everyone to stay in their seats and remain quiet.
“She [the flight attendant] told me that several other people on the plane were from other countries,” Gaudry said in the video, “and that they were uncomfortable with us singing the national anthem.”
Sorry, but tough cookies.
We shouldn’t have to play the “Who’s Offended Today?” game when it concerns singing the national anthem on U.S. soil -- particularly when there are so many other legitimate things to be offended by, and being offended by everything diminishes the feeling of actual offense.
Gaudry said she felt “humiliated” by the ordeal, and she said that she should have stuck to her original plan.
“I'm humiliated by my lack of courage to sing the national anthem in my own country on American soil, with a deceased soldier on the plane. I wish I could have been an example for my children," Gaudry said in the video. "I’m glad my former husband is deceased because he would have been profoundly disappointed in me.”
Here's the Facebook video of Gaudry explaining the situation:
We all knew Gaudry meant well, and it shouldn't have ended with her feeling humiliated.
According to a subsequent Facebook post by Gaudry, Delta Airlines contacted her to apologize, to tell her that the policy asserted by the flight attendant “is NOT their policy,” and that the flight attendants will “do some training for the future.”
Here’s Gaudry’s Facebook post:
Next time, don’t ask.