There’s been a minor uproar over some North Carolina school kids who burst into singing the national anthem at the 9/11 memorial the other day. Some sources have absurdly claimed that the kids were asked to stop singing because the national anthem was “offensive” while others have just expressed general outrage that kids cannot sing the national anthem anywhere they want at any time.

You know, not everything is a giant liberal conspiracy to suppress patriotism and belief in America. The actual truth, as set forth in the actual news outlet that reported the story, is that this is a national memorial that is treated as a burial site. Tourists from all over come to visit and contemplate the loss of people who died there, who often may have been friends. Sure, you might like to hear some school kids burst into the national anthem at random, but others might find it disturbing to their reverie and sorrow.

So the memorial clearly states that if you want to come sing, you need to get a permit. That way, they can make sure your group is set up in the right spot and make a little announcement to all the assembled that such-and-such group is here to sing a song, and so on and so forth. It’s not a conspiracy to shut down the singing of the national anthem; it’s a reasonable measure to ensure orderliness and solemnity at a site that is basically a mass grave. It doesn’t mean anyone hates the National Anthem or America or Middle Schoolers.

There’s a lot to get legitimately upset about in this country. It’s sad that literally everything has to be treated as a reason for freak out by some on the right.