An article concerning the vandalism of a 9/11 memorial was shared on Facebook, I knew without a doubt that we are a divided nation. I know what I stand for, and this type of blatant disrespect is not it. Say what you will, you have your beliefs, but anathema to those that would further diminish, demoralize, and divide our country, by the willful and shameful disrespect of a national tragedy. This protest provides nothing short of carte blanche to disrespect our other national symbols by desecration. I blame those that protest during our national anthem for encouraging this vandalism.
Shame on those that encourage and support, even those among military personnel, such behavior by this choice of protest. You drive a wedge into our collective identity as a nation. Our shared history. I find it difficult to believe any service member would dare support the disrespect of the flag-draped coffin of a fallen service member. But you would dare support sitting during the national anthem? What if a service member you knew did not salute? Would that person not be subject to the UCoMJ? (Please, kindly correct me if I’m wrong.) This protest against our nation’s symbols is nothing short of switching uniforms during the game. Why would someone enter combat under the US flag, then stand by in support of its burning? I find that strangely confusing.
You beat the wrong drum. The noise of your protest has inflamed the senses of opponents and critics. No one remembers or cares what started this protest. It has disintegrated into further racism and degenerated name calling. No one can even talk about the REAL issue anymore. You have further divided our nation.
No nation or people are perfect. I will fully affirm that slavery, manifest destiny, DDT, abuse, violence, pollution, and corruption continue to describe and diminish our nation. We have our faults, sins, and skeleton-filled closets. But your protests, during our national anthem, tatters our already tarnished and fragmented nation even further. You’re right to speak and be heard is well documented. But if you want respect beyond your status and convenient airtime, you stand for our national anthem and use your time and money and buy TV time. You speak out against ALL manner of violence and oppression! Stand for the hungry, homeless, disabled, widows, orphans, and you WILL be heard. But your method of protest continues to divide our nation.
The heartbeat of any nation is its symbols which represent its values and standards. I stand for what our nation, the USA, is supposed to and can be, never for what it is. I want better. Much, much better. There is so much more that needs to been done, focused on, and changed. It seems inconceivable, but we all recognize this as the truth. We have dishonored our ancestors, we burden our children, and we weaken our future. Even in our disagreements and misunderstandings we can work, hand in hand, toward something better.
No one should have to suffer anything in our nation. No one should be without gainful employment, appropriate healthcare, protected worship, adequate food, clothing, water, electricity, or shelter. No one should ever have live under the threat of violence, oppression, or poverty. The Declaration of Independence calls it, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. But that’s part of my country’s heritage under the Star Spangled Banner, under the red, white, and blue flag we honor and respect with the Pledge of Allegiance. These are the ideals that we stand for, not kneel for.
Yes, this drum you beat has deafened me. I can’t hear and won’t hear you because you offend me by your disrespect towards my country. Let Iran, ISIS, the Taliban, North Korea, etc. burn our flags in protest and hate! But don’t you dare expect me to understand your disrespect for my country! Because as you protest in this way, you destroy the symbol, values, and hopes we all share. You give power to those that want the USA weak and fragmented. It simply baffles my mind when the “heathens” (foreigners) know more than the “believers” (citizens). (See Jonah 1)
I don’t speak your ‘protest the national anthem’ language and I never will. I will stand for my national anthem. I yearn to make the USA better. I will mourn her faults. I will celebrate her victories. I will criticize her foolishness. But I will stand for our national anthem.
Certainly, our country has slipped. I am not foolish enough to believe the USA has been or ever will be perfect. We struggle with many issues on the domestic and world stage. We struggle with who we are and who we might become. We struggle with our past and how that guides our future. But you will never get your absolute way, because that is not who we are.
The citizens of the USA will always speak with many voices, traditions, and cultures. We often speak from knowledge and experience. We often speak out of innocence and passion.We often speak without knowing the source or reason. We often speak just because it feels right. We often speak when silence should prevail. But, we will always speak.
And now I speak.
To those that support dissenters like #Kaepernick, you are wrong. To those that won’t understand the respect our national unity deserves, you are wrong. No one died to give anyone the right to piss on our country’s symbols of national identity. Those ties that are supposed to bind. Does he have the right to protest, speak out, complain, and demand change? Absolutely! But not at the further expense of our collective ability to make those changes.
Because of this ‘protest of disrespect’, our nation slips further. The hands that would help it back up become fewer and fewer. The unity that would guarantee a victory in our struggles splinters, fragments, and disintegrates. The heartbeat of any nation is the strength of it national symbols and values. Abraham Lincoln once said during our Civil War, “A nation divided against itself cannot stand.” This nation is looking to you, Colin Kaepernick and you would have us to kneel, not stand.
I blame you for its continued downfall.
