Recently there has been press coverage of a certain NFL football player who refused to stand during the National Anthem. I really normally try to stay out of issues like this because I don't like "stirring the pot", but when I was standing in our school's chapel service today singing the "Star-Spangled Banner", I really felt moved to say something.
Freedom
Let me begin by saying that I think it is important to stand up for your beliefs. If you have something that you are passionate about, then by all means, fight for it. Colin Kaepernick has an issue that he feels is worth fighting for, and that is commendable. Colin Kaepernick also has the freedom guaranteed to him by the first amendment to speak or protest freely about his issues.
The funny thing about freedom is that it isn't really free (insert Team America lyrics here). We live in a country that allows people to voice their opinions because people died fighting under the very flag that Colin Kaepernick refuses to stand beneath. If you are a Kaepernick supporter, your heart rate is probably rising right now, but please hear me out.
Sacrifice
Have you ever heard the background story of the "Star-Spangled Banner"? I'm embarrassed to say that I only recently heard the story, and it is definitely a story worth hearing.
Francis Scott Key was a lawyer during the War of 1812 between the colonists and Britain. He was making negotiations with the British and was successful in convincing them to exchange prisoners on a one for one basis. The only problem was that the British were planning an immediate attack on Fort McHenry as long as the American flag still flew. The prisoners were to remain on the ship until the British gained control. The British gave the colonists an ultimatum that if they lowered the American flag, the British would cease fire and take control.
From their ship, they watched the British pummel Fort McHenry from the water for hours and hours that night. They knew that the goal of the British was to destroy the American flag and with it the morale of the colonists, so their prayer was that the flag would still be standing the next morning. So by the dawn's early light, the flag that they had been praying for since the twilight's last gleaming was still there. And do you know what was holding up that flag? Men. Human beings. As the British blasted Fort McHenry, the flag started to fall. As soon as it would fall, American soldiers would run to hold it up. When that soldier was shot, another would grab it, and another, and another. So many men ran to hold up that flag that by the time the battle was over the flag was held up by all of the men who had died to protect it. (Full story here)
I could go on about the sacrifices made in this battle, or about brave soldiers such as Medal of Honor recipient PFC Harold Agerholm who was killed in action after singlehandedly evacuating 45 soldiers in the Pacific, or about Petty Officer Second Class Michael Monsoor who jumped on a grenade in Iraq, giving his life for his fellow Navy Seals and posthumously receiving the medal of honor. I could go on, but I have a point to make.
Honor
Colin Kaepernick has issues that he feels strongly about. He wants to stand up (not literally) in a public way to defend something he is passionate about. That is commendable. What he has to remember is that without the sacrifice given by those who fought under that flag, there might not have been a first amendment created to protect his freedom of speech.
Before a football game, there are about two minutes dedicated to honoring our country. During those two minutes, Americans place their right hands over their hearts as a way to honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country. American flags are always displayed during those two minutes to instill a sense of national pride for our country and to honor those who have died defending it. Whether or not you agree with the current President's politics, or with the law that was passed yesterday, or with the people who are running for president, you have a duty as an American citizen to stand for two minutes and honor those who have given their lives to give you your freedom.
There are 1,438 other minutes in the day to exercise your first amendment rights.
I'm going to leave you with a quote from Calvin Coolidge that I think sums everything up nicely:
“We identify the flag with almost everything we hold dear on earth, peace, security, liberty, our family, our friends, our home. . .But when we look at our flag and behold it emblazoned with all our rights we must remember that it is equally a symbol of our duties. Every glory that we associate with it is the result of duty done.”
