Colin Kaepernick and Forced Patriotism

Matt Rogers
Aug 25, 2017 · 6 min read

As we welcome the 2017 Football season, even more athletes are taking a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. The primary protagonist/antagonist of this movement, Colin Kaepernick is unsigned and the NAACP is planning a protest for what it calls the racial blackballing of Kaepernick. Depending upon who you listen to, Kaepernick is this generation’s Martin Luther King or the most dangerous man in the world. In the year since Kaepernick first sat during the anthem a debate has raged across the country. Should he or any other athlete be forced to stand for the Anthem and celebrate patriotism or should everyone be allowed to make that choice, for whatever reason, for themselves? I can’t help but think that our Founding Fathers would have agreed that dissent is the greatest form of patriotism. I wrote this article in response to the whole “Kaepernick Threat” and feel that my point is just as valid today as it was last year.

There is no question America suffers from incredible pain and suffering. Much of it is racist however there is also sexual discrimination, gay and trans-phobia and a rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment. These issues have the potential to tear the country apart. They are revealing too much anger between all sides involved. Yet the core question is not being addressed, at least in my opinion. Should we be forced to stand and pledge our allegiance to the country, anthem, government and/or military. The key word in that statement is forced. Not willing or voluntary but forced. Should we be forced to celebrate our national pride simply because? And if we are forced, does that make us free?

As a self-declared, self-appointed voice of a generation (still looking for said generation), my ego has latched onto something and I can’t let it go. Is forced patriotism an ideal that Americans should aspire to? What’s happened to our right to express our views in freedom/

A wave of conformist nationalism and patriotic pride kicked off in August when the underweight back-up quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kaepernick, took a knee during the playing of the national anthem in protest of police brutality against minorities. I am not getting into the statistics to determine if he is right or wrong. That is not the point of my words. The issue at stake is the desire to punish him for embracing his constitutional right to express his point of view and bring light to a cause he feels is important by people angry over his view and stance.

I have thought about this issue for the past few weeks, wanting to offer some new point of view. I had read many comments, saw some absolutely stupid comments about “deporting his ass” and felt bad for those so angered that they wished to see him punished for expressing a right. It was the game on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills that compelled me to act. People were selling shirts in the parking lot with rifle sights superimposed on his face. Yes, people were selling (and buying) shirts with him in the crosshairs. What has this man done that is so horrific that anyone would feel justified even floating the idea that he should be killed? Nothing! He has not done anything other than express an issue he feels is an injustice and wants to change it.

Kaepernick protests during the anthem by taking a knee. He does not sit on the bench looking like a spoiled child with a frown and his arms crossed any more. He takes a knee in what appears to be a respectful protest. He is an easy target to go after with his tattoos and giant afro. He looks like everything middle America has been told by the media to fear about “minorities”. There is no monster lurking there, no devil wishing to destroy the fabric of society. Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Willie Mays and Kareem Abdul Jabbar all protested the inequalities they saw in life. We look at these athletes as leaders and role models. I’m not saying Kaepernick is at the same level as they are however that is a reflection of his abilities and how his on-field impact compared to theirs.

To everyone who has expressed an opinion that he should be punished, fired, cut, deported (he is a US citizen mouthbreathers, we don’t deport our own) please get a grip. Those demanding that he suffer consequences for his actions, you have expressed your own opinion on the sitting president through social media and most likely it has not been positive. It is your right to do so however if your employer happened to see your opinion and fired you for it would you accept that punishment or scream at an injustice because of the 1st Amendment? How many of you that are vocal about Kaepernick’s “disrespect’ were also the ones defending Tim Tebow’s public religious expressions, arguing that he had a right to express himself.

Ironically, those of you who support the stance that Kaepernick, as well as other athletes are taking were among the biggest critics during Tebowmania, saying he should just play ball and keep his opinions to himself. Most of you are also the ones who were calling the previous President a war criminal and Nazi. Again, your right which I support, however would you be willing to accept the loss of your job for expressing your views?

When an athlete expresses a view that you support it is easy to rush to their aid and support them unconditionally. When an athlete expresses a view that you oppose it is easy to rush to silence them. We have not learned, it does not seem like we can accept that the freedom of expression exists not for words that we agree with but for words that make us uncomfortable. To wish that anyone suffer for their words and actions, spoken within the full protection of the 1st amendment, is to violate the same protection that allows you and me to express our views without fear of retribution.

Some of the comments I have read make me wonder if people really understand what freedom means. The easiest attack is “respect the flag, respect the military and those that gave their lives.” Have we come to a point in our history where we have to force people to stand to respect the flag. Respect is earned, not forced. Nations that force patriotism include: North Korea, Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, Cuba, Venezuela. This is not a group I would ever want to see America associated with. Yet without a hint of irony freedom and military loving citizens feel that athletes should be forced to celebrate the flag of freedom. Please tell me how this makes sense? I don’t get it.

The founding fathers of the United States of America protested it’s mother country because of unfair representation and oppression. Since I do not possess a DeLorean with a flux capacitor I cannot travel back to 1776 and determine how they would feel about multi-million dollar athletes taking a knee during the National Anthem, however since they were plotting revolution and willing to be branded traitors I assume they would not take issue with these actions. In fact they might have more of an issue with those demanding punishment for those attempting to silence Kaepernick.

Protest his stance if you wish. That is your right and should be equally defended however as you protest, think how you are doing so. Do we really want to live in a nation where people suffer for their views?

Kaepernick took a stand against an issue he felt was important. He took this action fully aware of the backlash that would follow. He is putting his values ahead of money and fame. He is backing up his talk with commitment and sacrifice. These are traits we should be teaching our kids. Supporting his right to express himself is not the same as defending or supporting what he is doing. I am not praising him as a hero and I am not condemning him as a villain. I am protecting and arguing for his right to express his views just as I would for anyone else.

We all have the right to express ourselves. We are furious when anyone tries to limit our speech because it might be “hateful” or “emotionally triggering”. Many of us go out of our way to express controversial and aggressive thoughts specifically because they will get a rise out of people and elicit a response of some kind. We want the right to express our views uninhibited yet we struggle to let others express theirs.

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Matt Rogers

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Founder-Emotional Design Group-Life Coaching to help people overcome emotional and mental barriers, transform their lives and live their dreams.

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