Voices of Patriotism: Bill Robertson

Bill Robertson grew up in a military family. His great-great grandfather was a colonel in the Civil War. His grandfather, a former Sarasota mayor, was an artillery commander in World War I and his father and uncle served in World War II. Today, he tries to give back to veterans any way he can.

Interviewed by Katie Johns/Observer

“My priorities are God and country,  in that order, but I'm extremely proud to be an American and what America stands for. We've always been the beacon -- I hate to use use corny terms, but it’s true -- of freedom in the world and still are. And not withstanding all the issues we have in the country, people are still dying to get here, literally trying to float over on rafts and different things and marching for hundreds of miles through Central America to get here, so there’s something we’re doing right and have done something right for all these years.”

“I always felt like I owed them [veterans] for the freedoms I have, to sit here in my law office and practice law in this great court system, but also the freedom to say what I want, when I want and sit on the radio and talk about things without fear of retribution or getting shot or penalized for speaking my mind.”

“I always tell them 'thank you for your service.' [People should] buy them lunch, pick up their tab, thank them for their service, and it’s amazing how they’d [veterans] say they’d do it all over again, in a heartbeat without hesitation.”

“I would say the vast majority of the younger generation in this country has no idea what the military does or what the cost is to the soldiers and their families, because it hasn’t been a part of their lives. Those families who have experienced it and experienced the loss like the Gold Star families, who are the ones who have lost children in the war, they know what it’s like and what it costs and what’s involved in the sacrifice it takes to have these freedoms, but a huge chunk of the generation doesn’t know what it’s like.”

“I’ve gotten blasted by liberal friends of mine about my stance on the flag at the football game, and they just say I’m blinded by my patriotism, and if that’s it, so be it. No, I’m moved by my patriotism.

“There is something true to the Southern gentlemen and gentile Southern traditions of respect and honor your parents, [saying] ‘yes ma’am,’ ‘no ma’am,’ open the door, treat everyone with respect regardless of age, race, creed. All the extremities with racism stuff, that’s not the Southern gentlemen or Southern upbringing I was raised with.”

“I try not to be controversial, but I’m not going to apologize for what I believe.”

“I think people need to reach out to veterans and first responders and thank them for what they do. And also understand what they go through, what they’ve been through. These kids who have been to war will never be the same whether they’re wounded or not, so it’s your obligation to review them and honor them and thank them for what they’ve done even if you disagree with the war.”

“It’s about honoring those who answered the call when asked without questioning doing what they were told. You separate the person and you honor them for doing their duty from the cause of from the war you disagree with.”

“That’s why I get so upset with, in the venue of pro football games, not standing up and saluting the flag when it’s presented. To me, that’s incredibly disrespectful, in that limited context. I absolutely believe in freedom of speech but that’s one venue when respect ought to be shown to the flag. And I’m all for protesting and repping the disenfranchised and others who have been prejudiced against, which I do as a lawyer all the time, many times free of charge when they can’t afford it. I help people just because they need it, regardless of color, race, creed, doesn’t matter to me as a lawyer. But in that one context, based upon what I know and what I work with, that really bothers me a lot and most of the vets I work with feel the same even though they say ‘I went in to war to defend the right to not stand and salute the flag. I’d do it again, but I just disagree with that because I still think that’s disrespectful.”