The Captain has addressed this issue before, but here we go again.
We, in America, have lost our freakin' minds when it comes to patriotism.
This is considered patriotic:
This is somehow also considered acceptable.
But during the recent Olympic games, gymnast Gabby Douglas
failed to put her hand over her heart during the awards ceremony as America’s
national anthem was played.
And the internet exploded with outrage!
She wasn’t flipping a bird. Or standing with fist held high
in open defiance.
 |
| Olympic Games, Mexico, 1968 |
Having just won a gold medal with her teammates, Douglas simply
forgot to put her hand over her heart.
Despite an exceptional performance of representing the
United States in two Olympic games (2012/2016), people accused the three-time
gold medalist of being un-American and suggested she should move to another
country since she obviously hates our country so.
Really?
Douglas immediately apologized, saying she was just caught
up in the moment and didn’t think about it.
But that didn’t appease those “patriotic” haters who troll
the internet looking for things to get faux butt-hurt about.
Then on Friday, the granddaddy of all butt-hurts: during a
preseason football game, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand
for the traditional pre-game singing of the Nation Anthem.
The Captain is not exactly sure what connection there is
between patriotism and football, but it’s a tradition, so… whatever.
Unlike Douglas, Kaepernick was unapologetic, admitting his
action was intentional. "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a
flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color… There are
bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with
murder."
The Captain gives kudos to Kaepernick, who is trying to use
his celebrity status to draw attention to a very serious problem in our nation.
Yes, racism is still alive and well in America. The question is, is he ready to
take the heat for taking a moral stand?
The internet has exploded with hatred toward Kaepernick. In
addition to questioning his patriotism, they challenge his ethnicity and
parentage (he was adopted by a white family as a child), his abilities (despite
leading the 49ers to a conference championship in 2012 and the playoffs in
2013), and his salary. A video posted to YouTube showed one man burning
Kaepernick’s jersey. WTF?!? They even accuse his girlfriend of leading him
astray.
Former teammate Alex Boone has offered his opinion on Fox News, no doubt solicited by the faux news network.
"You should have some f***ing respect for people who served, especially people that lost their life to protect our freedom. We're out here playing a game, making millions of dollars. People are losing their life, and you don't have the common courtesy to do that. That just drove me nuts."
Boone
is partially right. He and Kaepernick agree they are “playing a game, making
millions of dollars”, and that there are people “losing their lives”. But unlike Boone, Kaepernick sees the people dying right here in
America… at the hands of the very people who are supposed to be protecting
them. Which is Kaepernick’s point.
Captain's Note: Despite Boone’s protestation, the National Anthem is not
really about “people who served” or “people that lost their life to protect our
freedom”.
And why does everything today have to be about our veterans? If
veterans were so important, surely Congress would do more to take care of them…
But I digress…
Just a brief history lesson – the national anthem of the
United States is “The Star Spangled Banner”, a poem written by lawyer and
amateur poet Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812; specifically, during the
bombardment of Fort McHenry. Inspired by the view from his window, Key
scratched a poem on the back of a letter he had in his pocket.
Oddly, the flag that we now revere as “The Star-Spangled Banner”
is not “the broad stripes and bright stars” that was flying when Key saw “the
bombs bursting in air”. We venerate the flag that was raised the next morning
after the battle had ended.
Just a technicality.
Key’s poem was later set to music, but wasn’t adopted as our
National Anthem until President Herbert Hoover signed it into law in 1931.
There is nothing in the song that says “I love America” or ‘Support your local VFW”.Read it for yourself:
O! say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Nonetheless, we have adopted this virtually unsingable ditty
as our national anthem.
So be it.
And by law (yes, there is a law), we are expected to stand
with hand over heart as the song is played; soldiers are expected to salute.
But there is no penalty in the law if one chooses to not do so, and the First
Amendment to the Constitution gives us the right to not do so.
Freedom of Speech and all that.
Republican candidate Donald Trump (OMFG!) has responded, as
expected, with his own version of the Bush-era mantra, “Maybe he should find a
country that works better for him…”
Which is odd, since, as several have pointed out, candidate
Trump (OMFG!) also believes America is broken and needs to be fixed. But when a black man points this out, Trump (OMFG!) is outraged?
Others are piling on as well, including Trump’s (OMFG!)
buddies over at the extreme right-wing internet site Breitbart (OMFG!), which
is spreading the lie that Kaepernick converted to “Muslim” [sic] during the
off-season.
Which means he now – necessarily – hates America.
SMH!
According to Wikipedia, that internet fount of all
knowledge, Kaepernick was “baptized Methodist, confirmed Lutheran, and attended
a Baptist church during his college years.” In addition, he has several
Judeo-Christian tattoos on his body proclaiming his faith and devotion to God.
When you see him kissing his tricep after a touchdown, he is
kissing a tattoo of Psalm 18:39 – “You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled
my adversaries before me” – giving God the glory.
In addition to all the above, his detractors are continually
trying to tie Kaepernick to the “Black Lives Matter” movement (of which he is
not), which they have also painted as un-American.
For the moment, Kaepernick has some key support. 49ers Coach Chip
Kelly told reporters Saturday that Kaepernick's decision not to stand during
the national anthem is "his right as a citizen" and said "it's
not my right to tell him not to do something."
And – for the moment – the 49ers front office is accepting
of his position: “The national anthem is and always will be a special part of
the pre-game ceremony. It is an opportunity to honor our country and reflect on
the great liberties we are afforded as its citizens. In respecting such
American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we
recognize the right of an individual to choose and participate, or not, in our
celebration of the national anthem."
At least they get it… for the moment. The national anthem is
“an opportunity to honor our country and reflect on the great liberties we are
afforded as its citizens.”
And when one is disappointed in one’s country, one is
free – at least in the United States of America – to express that
disappointment in peaceful protest.
As Colin Kaepernick is doing.
He says he will not stand until “there’s significant change
and I feel like that flag represents what it’s supposed to represent in this
country — is representing the way that it’s supposed to…. [T]his country stands
for freedom, liberty, justice for all. And it’s not happening for all right
now.”
Jim Wright, an Iraqi War veteran, writes, “A true veteran
might not agree with Colin Kaepernick, but a true veteran would fight to the
death to protect his right to say what he believes. You don’t like what
Kaepernick has to say? Then prove him wrong. BE the nation he can respect. It’s
really that simple.”
So every time you see Colin Kaepernick sitting on the
sidelines during the singing of the national anthem, hopefully you will be reminded
that the idealized “land of the free” is still not realized by everyone in
America.
And instead of getting butt-hurt about Kaepernick’s protest,
maybe you’ll join in protesting the racism that still exists in our great
country.
And just maybe you’ll be moved to do something about it.
