Kneeling for the flag honors America by holding it accountable
What does it mean to truly love America?
It must include giving one’s heart to the ideals evoked in the promise of America: ideals of democracy and dignity, freedom and equality, liberty and justice. It includes tirelessly striving for these ideals, with the audacity to believe the promise of America extends to all of its citizens.
The best way to honor America is by honoring the ideals for which America stands — ideals for which people have lived and died — which includes doing all one can to honor the memory of those who died by making sure what they died for — the ideals that truly make America great — are put into practice.
Anytime our country falls short of its ideals, patriots have the responsibility to tirelessly strive so that the promise of America (liberty and justice for all, as the pledge teaches) matches the reality of America. If one doesn’t strive for the realization of these ideals, then one just pays lip service to the promise of America and sayings like the pledge become nothing more than empty words, devoid of meaning.
Those who love their country have the responsibility to call attention to the ways it falls short of its promise. Not because they don’t honor the ideals of America, but precisely because they honor and love them so much they won’t rest until they’re realized. The beloved song "America the Beautiful" captures this sentiment quite well:
“America, America! God mend thine every flaw, confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.”
The dream of America has always been a dream in process. Langston Hughes, one of Missouri’s most famous writers (born in Joplin in 1902), reflected on the experiences of being black in America, and how popular folklore about America as the land of freedom and opportunity was never the America of his experiences. But he still dreamed of the America that could be:
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath–
America will be!”
When Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial, he too believed in the promise of America, but also knew it had fallen short:
“When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable Rights’ of ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’ . . . Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’ But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.”
Because King loved the ideals of America, he held America accountable for falling short of them. This is part of the cost — and demand — of true patriotism (as opposed to cheap sentimentalism).
Contrary to popular belief (and let’s recall that in 1966, only 15% of whites thought “demonstrations by Negroes” were appropriate), NFL players who take a knee to call attention to systemic racism are working out of a patriotic tradition that holds America accountable, even and especially when it falls short of its ideals. They’re not protesting the flag or the troops, as they’ve repeatedly said, but are honoring the ideals to which the flag points, and for which many have died.
As soon as any of the players say they’re taking a knee in protest of those in the military or in protest of the promise of America, then I will no longer support their rationale.
Likewise, as soon as President Trump apologizes for calling a POW war hero a loser, or for belittling a Gold Star family whose son died in service to our country, I will consider that his desire for players to stand truly is about honoring the military — because he’s shown exceptional disdain for the military. And when Roger Goodell stops requiring the military (through your tax dollars) to pay millions to the NFL for “military appreciation events,” then I’ll believe his interest in having players stand is to honor the military as well.
If a person is naive enough to think (along with Mike Ditka) that oppression hasn’t existed in America for the last 100 years, or that unarmed black men in America aren’t killed by the police at a disproportionately high rate, then there’s nothing this article can do to convince them otherwise.
But if we’re at least willing to acknowledge that the long history of racism in America is a problem yet to be solved, and that the promise of liberty and justice for all is a goal yet to be achieved, then perhaps you’ll understand — if not appreciate — why some players take a knee in protest. Not because they disrespect the ideals of
America and those willing to give their life for its promise, but because they believe in them so much.