Nov. 3rd, Election Day, is upon us. Here in Louisiana, we are not only facing the mid-term congressional elections, which include the U.S. House races and a U.S. Senate race, in N. Louisiana we will also be deciding an open Louisiana Public Service Commission seat as well as numerous parish, mayoral and other local races.

All of this political campaign activity represents the fundamental exercise of our form of self-government. We are a Constitutional Republic within which we have chosen to govern ourselves as a representative democracy–which means Government by Consent of the Governed.

So, we are deciding who will represent us. Contained within that solemn voting decision that will be made by millions more of us across the country on Tuesday is the hope and belief we have in our country. And that is extraordinary and deserving of respect. No constitutional republic with our attributes has ever lasted as long as ours has.

As I reflected, I recalled examples of some of our prominent athletes, of all kinds and races, and their lack of patriotism. I remember that Megan Rapinoe, a former player for the U.S Women’s National Soccer team, knelt during the National Anthem instead of standing respectfully with the rest of her team. So did former NFL player Colin Kapernick.

Last week, professional basketball player LeBron James was seen practicing his golf swing during the Anthem. Also, the two teams in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) finals, the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries, noticeably left the floor during the national anthem, all with great arrogance and ingratitude.

And yet, these repulsive ingrates refuse to put their money where their very big mouths are and leave the America where they have become wealthy and have been kept safe and free by far more honorable Americans—police, first responders, Maines, Air Force aviators, Navy sailors, Army soldiers—than themselves.

I contrast that with the professional baseball teams that stand respectfully during the anthem as well as the indomitable Sophie Cunningham, the WNBA forward for the Indiana Fever, who stated regarding the controversy surrounding the teams skipping the National Anthem during the Finals, “I take a lot of pride in where I come from and I’m proud to be an American citizen.”

I thought about America’s history and our scars and the fact that no nation has ever tried harder to address its shortcomings than America has. I also thought about the fact that I have a different life experience than many other Americans who are of different races, nationalities, religious faith, cultures, customs, and economic circumstances.

But I kept coming back to the same two points: 1) America’s two foundational creeds, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, strongly embrace and welcome all of those differences, and 2), even with the heated disagreements we have we are all still blessed beyond measure to be able to live here. Period.

Remember, the vast majority of people who have ever lived have done so under some form of tyranny, some form of authoritarianism and dictatorship. But not here with our great American experiment! Not here where we possess, merely by our birth and granted to us by God, certain unalienable rights that government cannot take from us; not here where our Constitution guarantees those fundamental rights to every single American citizen. Not here, where we get to choose our leaders and, therefore, get to decide the kind of country we live in and laws we live under. Not here where we may not have our speech or worship censored by government and every one of us is equal under the law. Not here. Not now. Not Ever.

And that is why the disrespect toward the American flag and the National Anthem is so offensive. A steep and eternal price has been, and continues to be, paid for our freedom and those rights. A freedom that has been purchased and guaranteed throughout America’s history only by the great sacrifice—the “last full measure of devotion”—of the 1.1 million Americans who died—and millions more who were grievously wounded—over the last 250 years defending the freedoms we often take for granted.

That alone demands a respectful observance of our flag and National Anthem. We must return to a profound sense of gratitude and patriotism for that sacrifice and see it reflected in the small, brief observance of the flag being presented or the Anthem being played. We owe it.