Armies of patriots flocked to social media to ridicule San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, after he refused to stand for the national anthem to protest the current state of race relations in the United States. Uncle Sam’s keyboard warriors attacked the athlete for his actions instantaneously. Few even took time to examine the context of the actions and try to understand the situation in a different light than blind patriotism.
People who are upset at Kaepernick are missing the point of the event entirely. Kaepernick’s actions are not only protected by the First Amendment, but also by the NFL, a private business that doesn’t require players to salute the flag during the national anthem.
Within the past year, sports have become a powerful force for social activism in the United States. For example, the NBA removed the All-Star Game from Charlotte in response to House Bill 2 and countless athletes spoke out against gun violence and incidents involving race relations. Sports can no longer be described as “just a game.”
As a popular American cultural icon, televised athletics have become a premier outlet to showcase injustice on a national level. Half a century ago, Muhammad Ali used his public persona to fight for social justice, and just months ago he was considered a national hero upon his passing. Days ago, Colin Kaepernick used his public persona to fight for social justice, and he was ridiculed across the country as a national embarrassment. This is not to say that Kaepernick is Ali, but the message remains the same.
If you condemn Kaepernick while praising Ali, then you never understood the truth behind Muhammad Ali, because they both are saying the same thing. The fact that there is more backlash toward Kaepernick’s actions than the actual incidents of oppression in this country shows that he has a point.
America subsequently told him to focus on football instead of social issues. That excuse has gone on far too long. For hundreds of years, America has dictated that professional athletes need to just throw or kick the ball, and turn a blind eye to social justice, especially if that athlete isn’t a white straight male named Tim Tebow.
That time has ended. The national anthem is the very embodiment of a nation whose freedoms allow Colin Kaepernick the ability to make a statement. Patriotism is too often disguised as blind allegiance to the established idea that Americans have to love every aspect of our country, and anyone that bats an eye to challenge that notion must be a hypocrite that hates the men and women who died defending the country.
Patriotism should be looked at in a different light. Colin Kaepernick was the most patriotic player on the football field that evening. True patriotism is understanding that the United States isn’t perfect, and striving toward an end goal in which perfection is achieved instead of simply accepting the status quo.
Nobody is denying that men and women have died defending the freedom to choose not to stand for the national anthem. Choosing not to stand up during the national anthem doesn’t make their sacrifices in vain. People shouldn’t be required to salute the flag just because people have defended freedom, because that defeats the very essence of freedom as a whole.
While the government doesn’t force people to take part in these conventionally patriotic actions, society has run rampant with the idea that anyone who refuses should leave the country because they don’t deserve the freedom to not salute the flag. That is blind patriotism, and it is dangerous to our society.
Americans haven’t died in the last several years because they chose not to salute the flag. Americans have died in the last several years because of the color of their skin. Colin Kaepernick’s actions were commendable. He took a stand for the issue of continued racism that many Americans are disregarding as nonexistent.
Controversy and desecration of the status quo often forces change. If you are more upset by Colin Kaepernick choosing not to stand during “The Star Spangled Banner” than you are when an unarmed citizen is killed by police, or when minorities in this country are continually subjected to racism from a mainstream presidential candidate, then you are not just fueling the problem. You are the problem.
