{"id":4057,"date":"2026-07-09T11:40:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T11:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057"},"modified":"2026-07-09T11:40:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T11:40:03","slug":"its-not-controversial-to-love-america-so-why-are-people-fired-for-saying-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057","title":{"rendered":"It’s not controversial to love America \u2014 so why are people fired for saying it?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Picture this. <\/p>\n

July 4, 2026. It\u2019s America\u2019s 250th birthday, and you\u2019re on an incline tram climbing up Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tenn.<\/p>\n

Read more Exclusive | Samantha Baker\u2019s neighbor reveals chilling details of \u2018loud\u2019 fight before teen son allegedly stabbed Ala. mom to death<\/a><\/p>\n

The conductor takes the microphone and says, \u201cTo the very, very few Americans in here, Happy Independence Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then adds, \u201cTo the rest of you, welcome to the greatest country on the face of the planet, and if you disagree, you can leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you laugh, pump your fist and proudly sing a line of Rick Derringer\u2019s \u201cReal American\u201d? Or do you complain to the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority, which operates the ride?<\/p>\n

Offended passenger Nathan Scherer chose the latter \u2014 along with posting a petty video that has gone viral.<\/p>\n

In the end, conductor Jack Peterson was the one told to leave. Fired over a simple love-it-or-leave-it sentiment.<\/p>\n

On TikTok, Scherer added the sensational hashtags #xenophobia and #racism, even though there was no suggestion of either. Why does his mind go to such a pessimistic place?<\/p>\n

After all, I have heard so many immigrants convey the same message: They do love this country. <\/p>\n

You\u2019d be hard-pressed to find one who isn\u2019t grateful they have been given the lottery ticket to live here.<\/p>\n

Why else do we think all of these people who illegally spilled over the border under Biden are fighting tooth and nail to stay?<\/p>\n

As for foreigners in general \u2014\u00a0look no further than the international soccer fans who have recently descended upon our shores and flyover states and delighted in the discovery of American hospitality, unique landscapes, and food like ranch dressing.<\/p>\n

Read more Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward reveals he\u2019s confined to wheelchair \u2014 nearly one year after Ozzy Osbourne\u2019s death<\/a><\/p>\n

Yes, even our condiments make people love this land.<\/p>\n

Heck, even America\u2019s worst critics are mounting legal challenges to remain. Just look at anti-Israel rabble rouser Mahmoud Khalif, who is dying to stay here despite calling our nation an unjust hellhole every two seconds.<\/p>\n

Great country, this America!<\/p>\n

But back to Chattanooga. Nathan Scherer\u2019s father, Charles was also infuriated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just really upset me, the whole time riding down,\u201d he told WTVC, adding that he was embarrassed because his granddaughter was on board.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know what goes on in their household. But if your granddaughter\u2019s ears are too sensitive for some good-old fashioned declaration of American pride, may I suggest she apply to be an intern for Mayor Zohran Mamdani? He delivered a speech on July 3 that might be more to the Scherers\u2019 taste, saying of some unnamed \u201cpowerful\u201d cabal: \u201cAmerica, in their view, is an arena of supremacy, where only a select few are allowed freedom, where not all are created equal.\u201d<\/p>\n

How cynical.<\/p>\n

Or perhaps there is a job opening with soon-to-be Congresswoman Claire Valdez, who posted on X: \u201cThis 4th of July we recommit ourselves to remaking it. To fight for liberation from Palestine to Puerto Rico, for a Green New Deal, for the world we deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who shows up to someone\u2019s big birthday party and gives a speech about how much they suck? There are 364 other days of the year to lob insults.<\/p>\n

Same goes for the Scherers. It was America\u2019s big, giant awesome birthday \u2014 and a day to be unflinchingly patriotic and reverent. Even if that means a little hyperbole.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Look, I don\u2019t know what the deal is with Peterson. Maybe he was already on probation for loving America too much and inappropriately touching our flag,or for playing Lee Greenwood on repeat inside his train. Perhaps this was the last straw after he made a habit of showing off his bald-eagle tramp-stamp tattoo to passengers.<\/p>\n

Maybe his employer was just looking for an excuse to send him packing and the Scherer family provided the HR lady the last bit of ammo needed to cut him loose.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly do believe we are the greatest country on earth,\u201d Peterson told WTVC. \u201cMy statement about if you don\u2019t like the country and don\u2019t believe we are the best, then you can leave, is a freedom of the USA that many other countries do not have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scherer and his father have a right to be offended, but they don\u2019t have a right to be taken seriously. Clutching ye olde pearls because someone said love America or leave it is a wild state of affairs.<\/p>\n

Read more Taco Bell locations pull ingredients off menu as \u2018explosive diarrhea\u2019 parasite cases surge<\/a><\/p>\n

The default should be love \u2014 not self-loathing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A conductor on a Tennessee tourist train told passengers, “Welcome to the greatest country on the face of the planet, and if you disagree, you can leave.” In the end, conductor Jack Peterson was the one told to leave. Fired over a simple love-it-or-leave-it sentiment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kirsten-fleming","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nIt's not controversial to love America \u2014 so why are people fired for saying it? - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It's not controversial to love America \u2014 so why are people fired for saying it? - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A conductor on a Tennessee tourist train told passengers, "Welcome to the greatest country on the face of the planet, and if you disagree, you can leave." In the end, conductor Jack Peterson was the one told to leave. Fired over a simple love-it-or-leave-it sentiment.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-09T11:40:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4057#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4057\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"headline\":\"It’s not controversial to love America \u2014 so why are people fired for saying it?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-09T11:40:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4057\"},\"wordCount\":790,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4057#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/265d1e559f01c4472a09fce5a7f92bb8.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Kirsten Fleming\",\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4057#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4057\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4057\",\"name\":\"It's not controversial to love America \u2014 so why are people fired for saying it? - Metro Transit Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4057#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4057#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/265d1e559f01c4472a09fce5a7f92bb8.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-09T11:40:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4057#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4057\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4057#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/265d1e559f01c4472a09fce5a7f92bb8.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/265d1e559f01c4472a09fce5a7f92bb8.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4057#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"It’s not controversial to love America \u2014 so why are people fired for saying it?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metro Transit Review\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"It's not controversial to love America \u2014 so why are people fired for saying it? - Metro Transit Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"It's not controversial to love America \u2014 so why are people fired for saying it? - Metro Transit Review","og_description":"A conductor on a Tennessee tourist train told passengers, \"Welcome to the greatest country on the face of the planet, and if you disagree, you can leave.\" In the end, conductor Jack Peterson was the one told to leave. Fired over a simple love-it-or-leave-it sentiment.","og_url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057","og_site_name":"Metro Transit Review","article_published_time":"2026-07-09T11:40:03+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"headline":"It’s not controversial to love America \u2014 so why are people fired for saying it?","datePublished":"2026-07-09T11:40:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057"},"wordCount":790,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/265d1e559f01c4472a09fce5a7f92bb8.webp","articleSection":["Kirsten Fleming","Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057","name":"It's not controversial to love America \u2014 so why are people fired for saying it? - Metro Transit Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/265d1e559f01c4472a09fce5a7f92bb8.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-09T11:40:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/265d1e559f01c4472a09fce5a7f92bb8.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/265d1e559f01c4472a09fce5a7f92bb8.webp","width":1200,"height":799},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4057#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"It’s not controversial to love America \u2014 so why are people fired for saying it?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/","name":"Metro Transit Review","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/metrotransitreview.com"],"url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}