From Facebook to ESPN, the nation is currently obsessed with the protests of our National Anthem by highly paid athletes, particularly in the NFL. Everyone with Internet access has suddenly discovered a renewed sense of either patriotism or an antiestablishmentarianism, while the intellectuals bemoan the vapidity of sports. We're all very socially conscious these days, it seems. Aren't we all so evolved?
Despite my jocularity on Facebook, I am deeply interested in this subject. As I reviewed my blog from last year discussing this phenomenon, something struck me. The protests continue, but nobody really even knows why anymore. It was originally Colin Kaepernick's way of protesting police brutality, particularly against African-Americans. Subsequent protests were acts of solidarity on the part of fellow players. This year the protests are far more ambiguous. They are protests against racism and hate. They are attempts at "starting a conversation," whatever that means. They are protests against Donald Trump and hillbillies and the American flag. They are protests against anyone who doesn't like the fact that they're protesting--anti-anti-protesting protests, if you will. As with any political protest that becomes bastardized, it has lost all meaning.
While this year's protests have changed the meaning and form of Kaepernick's protest, one thing that hasn't changed is the good that these protests are achieving. There is none. There never was any, and there still isn't. Kneeling or linking arms or sitting while crowds of partially-intoxicated sports fans belt out the National Anthem doesn't actually accomplish anything. The one exception would be those players who are praying (allegedly) for our country. Prayer has power, but just protesting for the sake of protesting doesn't actually help anyone. It doesn't stop racism. It doesn't unite our country. "Opening up a dialogue" doesn't demonstrably effect any change. If anything, these protests have divided our nation further. Football has always been a uniting force in our nation, but these protests have unnecessarily driven a wedge between fans and teammates alike.
I didn't (and still don't) understand how Kaepernick protesting the National Anthem equaled opposing police brutality or racism. Now that the protests are even more haphazard, I'm not sure it makes any sense at all. We all love cheap sacrifices though. We love to "stand up for what's right," as long as it doesn't actually require anything of us. We love to feel philanthropic without actually doing anything. Protesting the National Anthem has become nothing more than an en vogue way to "stick it to the man" or give Uncle Sam the finger.
Given the national sins of the United States of America (abortion, sexual license, statism, etc.), there are valid reasons to protest the National Anthem. I know people who refrain from acts like singing the Anthem or pledging allegiance to the flag, but, though I respect their choices, I do not choose to follow suit. You see, I love the United States of America. I treasure her Christian heritage and the religious freedoms she still offers. True love for one's country, however, does not blindly support for her policies and actions, but seeks to reform her when she has gone astray. Some people choose to do that by protesting the Anthem. Being free means being allowed to do that (it also means being allowed to fire employees who choose to do it, but that's another discussion altogether). How people work to reform their country will look differently. I don't particularly see any value in not singing the anthem or in refusing to pledge allegiance to her. If your conscience simply won't allow you to voice support for a nation that has aborted millions of unborn babies, I get that, but I don't see how that protest is really accomplishing any reform. True reform requires work. True reform requires things like educating people, living an exemplary life, doing the right thing when nobody else will, and raising children who will change the next generation. That is my protest.
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