Why Kneel?

Some time around the mid-1980s, I became aware that a normal form of protest was to burn the American flag.  People took sides, names were called, constitutional experts showed up, and of course the ACLU must have gotten involved. Also, my future self was thankful once again that social media and cell phones did not exist. Recently, the NFL has seen its share of drama as first Colin Kaepernick and then other players refused to stand for the national anthem as a form of protest against what they see as injustice and police malfeasance within our country.  

To be honest, this kerfuffle had lost its flavor and seemed to be winding down until the president spoke at an Alabama senatorial candidate’s rally this past week. In front of an audience of anywhere from 2,000 to 6 million supporters, Trump called for both a boycott of teams with protesting players and a mass firing.  Millionaire players were angered, billionaire owners more often than not took their side, reporters shoved microphones (or worse iPhones) in people’s faces, and I cared about the NFL again for approximately 15 minutes. Then I went to write a blog.

As a symbol, there is none with a more pre-attached value than the American flag. In an international survey from a few years back the flag was even more well-known than the Cross, the Islamic Crescent, and the golden arches of McDonald’s.  If you have a protest and you want the greatest bang for your buck there is no better choice than one involving the American flag. You had better be prepared for blowback though because the more dear something is the more venom is released in its supposed defense.  

So what do I think?

Several things, actually. The leftward-leaning part of me is concerned about the plight of the put upon while the proud, patriotic side is more than a little peeved that folks don’t seem to respect the flag that my grandfather risked his life to defend.  My libertarian leanings lead me to feel that business owners should be able to hire and fire as they see fit and the white part of me just might feel a little guilty.   

There have been issues involving race in our country since before it was even a country and I think that has seen little change during this presidency.  I do feel that the current White House tends to bring out the worst in people on both sides of the issue and the dignity of the office suffers as a result.  Preening in front of adoring crowds to puff up a fragile ego should be left to the professionals, you know like football players.

Instead of a knee-jerk defense of the American ideal symbolized by the flag, maybe we should consider that America isn’t the same for all of its citizens. Possibly, if we ask this blog title question to someone who supports Kaepernick and other protesters and actually listen to their response instead of telling them that they were wrong we could learn why they feel the need to choose such a precious symbol.  I would, however, issue a word of caution to those protesting.  The other night I had a player get a yellow card for dissent for pointing out to the official that he had missed a call. “People hate to be wrong,” I told him, “but they hate it even worse when you point it out.”