When my daughter, who is a history teacher at a middle school in the city of Darlington, South Carolina, called me this morning (Wednesday, August 31, 2016), she asked me what I thought about Colin Kaepernick’s protest by refusing to stand for the playing of the National Anthem that was written by Francis Scott Key. I immediately knew there was an article that would come out of our brief conversation. Having mixed feelings about what this young celebrity athlete had done, due to the fact that I am a patriotic American, who was taught in both my early school days and time spent in the Army, to honor and respect “Old Glory”, a part of me naturally and immediately took an oppositional position to his refusal to stand and honor our most venerated national symbol. “How dare you or anyone else, whether they are black or white, Christian or Muslim, or of any other belief or persuasion dishonor our flag,” I thought, “seeing that you are a citizen of this nation and one who enjoys the benefits, privileges, and rights that being an American affords you.” Nevertheless, when my private objection against his public protest subsided, I was able to see things more vividly. Not only does Collin Kaepernick have the Constitutional right to sit as an act of protest during the playing of the National Anthem, but every American citizen also has the freedom to protest almost anything, as long as it does not infringe upon or violate the legal rights of others. Regrettably, even racist groups, like the KKK, Skin Heads, and others who advocate and promote white supremacy and racism have a right to do so, a right to be divisive, ignorant, and wrong. Those who contrarily embrace a belief of black superiority and racism have a right to be wrong and join those at the other end of the equation in their ignorance and misguided beliefs. Accepting the rights of people who embrace weird and even hateful and seemingly unpatriotic or un-American customs, principles, or practices does not mean that you agree with or endorse what they are doing. It simply means that you accept and respect their First Amendment right to express or protest what they believe, even if you do not like it and it seems or sounds completely absurd. There are many things that people do and say that I certainly do not like. Frankly speaking, I am angered and at times appalled at the beliefs and practices of some. How can I remain silent, calm, and unmoved by the senseless and genocidal slaughtering of the innocent and unborn by those who embrace the ungodly practice of abortion, even though it is their legal right? Their right to be wrong has brought about the death of over sixty million babies since the passing of Roe v. Wade by our Supreme Count back in January of 1973. On a more recent note, our Supreme Court, by a vote of five to four, legalized same sex unions. In my Judeo-Christian estimation and opinion, this decision that completely ignored the witness of nature, the witness of history, and worst of all the absolute and sovereign witness of the Creator, has not only weakened the structure and sanctity of marriage and the family unit, but it has also set us on a collision course with divine judgment. The right to be wrong through the practice and pursuit of certain things often carry with it grave consequences or repercussions to the practioner, as well as others. History is full of examples and episodes of those who made what they believed to be right, the law of the land, when it was immoral, inhumane, brutal, enslaving, and murderous to others. Did not most of our Founding Fathers believe that removing the Native Americans from their ancestral homeland, as well as importing and enslaving Africans to work it was right? Did not Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime that exterminated millions of Jews and other undesirables in their death camps believe that they were right?
Citing both historical and contemporary examples of the right to be wrong could, of course, continue. I have alluded to these illustrations in both the defense and disdain of Collin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the playing of our National Anthem. There is a saying in the third stanza of our National Anthem that was written by Francis Scott Key that I would be an idiot and traitor to the suffering of my ancestors to stand and honor. Here is what it says: “No refuge could save the hireling and slave, from the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave: And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph doth wave, o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” There is just no way that I as an African American can give reverence to racist words that celebrate the killing of my ancestors for fighting for their freedom along side the British. From this perspective, I applaud Kaepernick’s protest and action and admonish those of you, who are demonizing and calling him a traitor, to think before you speak. Is it a worst matter to sit and be silent at injustice, inequalities, and other evils that are happening daily before our eyes or to not stand as an act of protest for the National Anthem? Can the pot say to the kettle, why are you so smutty and dark? Can the extortionist say to the thief, why do you steal and take money that does not belong to you from people? Let him who has reached the level of perfection and who has no flaws or faults be the first to cast a stone.
Nevertheless, as I have already stated, I stand for the playing of the National Anthem because, for me, it is a matter of patriotism and is ingrained by conditioning and practice. I have come to believe that the idea of America, of our democracy, and democratic republic, was divinely breathed. In spite of the many human flaws, contradictions, inconsistencies, and even hypocrisies we have had to grapple with as a nation throughout our history, in order to form a more perfect union, we have a good track record for ultimately getting it right. I understand Collin Kaepernick, perhaps more than most, for I was once among the captive. I was once angry, radical, and void of understanding. Thank God somebody winked at my foolish and misguided behavior. One of my aunts and favorite people named Aunt Mae said, “Michael wears many coats and does not yet know what he wants to do, but one day he will discover and know for certain what his calling and purpose is. Then he will make an impact!” Thank you, Aunt Mae, for those words of affirmation and believing in me when few others did. She did for me over forty years ago what we all must do for young men like Collin Kaepernick – let us disagree with them, if we must, without becoming critical, hostile, and disagreeable. Let us give them the right to be wrong, pray for them, and be patient with them until they ultimately get it right. I believe that I, as well as many others, are living proof that your prayers, patience, and tolerance will pay-off after ‘while.
