For the last month or so, I’ve seen so-called protests that, in my eyes, cross the line from free speech to outright treason. Look, I get it—people have strong opinions, and in this country, we have the right to express them. But when you’re waving another country’s flag over your head while stomping on and desecrating our own? That’s no longer a protest. That’s spitting in the face of the very nation that gives you the right to open your mouth in the first place.

And let’s be clear—this country isn’t perfect. No country is. But if you’re standing on American soil, reaping the benefits of the freedoms this land provides, while trashing its flag and praising another, you’re not a freedom fighter—you’re a walking contradiction. Patriotism isn’t about blind loyalty, but at some point, you have to ask—if you think this other country is so much better, what’s stopping you from leaving? I’ll even do you a favor: I’ll hold the damn door open so it doesn’t smack your treasonous ass on the way out. And while you’re at it, don’t let the freedoms you take for granted follow you out the door—you won’t find them so easily elsewhere.

I’m all for debate. I’m all for disagreement. Hell, I’m even all for standing up against the government when it steps out of line—because that’s what a free country allows us to do. But freedom isn’t a one-way street. It comes with responsibilities, and one of those is at least respecting the flag that represents the freedoms you’re using to protest in the first place. You don’t have to worship it, but trampling on it while claiming you’re fighting for justice? That’s not activism—that’s self-righteous ignorance.

People love to scream about oppression while enjoying the very freedoms they claim to be denied. The irony is laughable. If you were truly in a place where speech was stifled, you wouldn’t be out in the streets chanting—you’d be silenced, imprisoned, or worse. Try pulling this same stunt in one of those so-called better countries and see how long you last. The very system you claim to despise is the only thing keeping you from learning firsthand what real oppression looks like.

And let’s talk about hypocrisy—because it’s dripping off these so-called protesters like sweat in July. These same individuals will tear down their own country but have no real plan to make it better. They’ll call for change while disrespecting the very foundation that allows them to push for it. They demand rights while showing zero regard for the responsibilities that come with them. There’s a big difference between criticizing to improve and simply tearing something down out of spite. If you hate the system so much, get involved, vote, advocate for policies that create change—but don’t expect respect when you show nothing but disdain for the nation that enables your voice to be heard.

You don’t get to desecrate the flag and then hide behind the Constitution when people call you out on it. If you’re so eager to raise another country’s flag while spitting on your own, maybe your loyalty is already elsewhere. And in that case, don’t just wave that foreign flag—go live under it. See how quickly your “rights” hold up there.

If you want to make a statement, do it in a way that doesn’t make you look like an ungrateful fool. Have some damn respect. Protest with purpose, not just to make noise. If you think America is so broken, then work to fix it—don’t desecrate the very symbol of the freedoms you claim to want more of. Because at the end of the day, if you destroy the house you live in without building a new one, you’re not a revolutionary—you’re just homeless and bitter. And no one respects that.