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PHILIPPINE SEA (Dec. 7, 2011) A flag detail aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) renders honors during a remembrance ceremony for the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on the ships namesake, Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor and embarked Marines of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (11th MEU) are on deployment conducting operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Alan Gragg/Released)
Well, I guess there is something wrong with me. Even though I served 22 years on active duty in the U.S. military (including a year in Iraq) and another nine years as a police officer, somehow I feel neither disrespected, diminished, insulted, nor devalued by the modest and dignified actions of some NFL players. They didn’t yell at anybody, they didn’t threaten anybody, they didn’t break anything. Nobody missed a meal or lost their health insurance because some football players didn’t follow the customary procedure before kickoff. They didn’t even delay the start of the games. I have read their explanations of why they acted and they have been unfailingly respectful of the sacrifices of military and public safety personnel. They simply tried to draw momentary attention to an injustice that they see every day. This is their right under the United States Constitution, a governing document that I promised to defend numerous times in my military and law enforcement careers.
Unfortunately, the original message has long since been drowned out by a cascading torrent of overreaction and unhelpful vitriol. As this thing heated up, my initial reaction was pretty much “Nothing says ‘Land of the Free’ like forcing people to stand for the national anthem.” Now my reaction is just a dull sadness that people are so easily provoked into hateful and hurtful comments.
I like the flag, but I like the Constitution even more. The silent protests before football games haven’t diminished my pride in my service or interfered with my life, liberty or pursuit of happiness. If anything, the protests have reaffirmed my faith in America and its people. We are a better nation when citizens who see an injustice are willing to stand up and say, “This is not acceptable.”
September 25, 2017