Let me start by acknowledging the ways in which I could be seen as biased, before I proceed to explain why I think Colin Kaepernick’s decision not to stand for the national anthem is misguided. First, I’m a Navy brat as both of my parents have worked in the service of our country so I have a huge amount of respect for members of the military and the sacrifices they have made for our country. Second, I’m an athlete and I’ve stood countless times for the playing of our national anthem before my own competitions. As a result of these two aspects of my identity, to stop what I’m doing and stand at attention when our national anthem plays has become reflexive to me. I also acknowledge that since I’m white, I can’t fully grasp the experience of living in a nation that may at times be unfriendly to me because of the color of my skin, but I still feel as though I have something universal to say in terms of the importance of Colin Kaepernick standing for our national anthem.
Yes, I recognize that Kaepernick has the right not to stand for the national anthem. I’m not arguing against free speech, regardless of the content of that speech. I also recognize that the fact that we play the national anthem before sporting events is a somewhat arbitrary tradition. In this article, I’m not going to address whether or not the song should even be played. I also don’t wish to distract from or undermine the important reason why Kaepernick is doing what he’s doing. I recognize that what he’s doing seems heroic to a large cohort of people. I solely aim to critique the means he has employed, because I don’t believe that sitting during the playing of our national anthem furthers the cause he is championing.
The cause he is championing is this: "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder." None of what he says is wrong, and it’s admirable that Kaepernick has taken advantage of the platform that he’s privileged enough to possess to reassert the issue of racial inequality into the national spotlight, but by communicating that he can only be a proud American when America does not oppress people of color sends a message of hopelessness instead of expressing hope for the future. Here’s what I mean: The point of Kaepernick’s protest must be to demand improvement in race relations in America. To believe that America can improve is to have faith in America. This faith can have many sources, but it’s undeniable that one source of faith in America comes from the historical fact that we’ve improved in the past. That in and of itself is a reason to be proud of our nation, to be proud that we have time and again shown the capacity to improve. Yes, there is reason not to be proud of our nation’s current racial circumstances, but the consequence of not showing any pride in our nation is to doom any hope of improvement.
Not only is Kaepernick not showing any pride in our nation, but he is choosing to do so during the playing of our national anthem. I might be reading a lot into this, because Kaepernick might have chosen to protest the national anthem merely because he knew it’d be effective at getting people's attention, but even if that’s the case I think the message it sends to protest the national anthem, in particular, is actually in conflict with what Kaepernick seeks. Kaepernick is protesting racial inequality. Of course, America isn’t perfect in that regard, or even close, but our national anthem doesn’t say it is. Thus, as Kaepernick implicates our national anthem in his protest, he is also implicating what our national anthem stands for. Our national anthem was written immediately following our victory in the Battle of Baltimore, and was a timely reaction to the fact that against all odds, our flag was still there. The song articulates what our flag represents: courage, resilience, sacrifice, unity, and pride. The land of the free and the home of the brave didn’t grant African Americans freedom in 1812 when the song was written, and you can argue, as Kaepernick does, that African Americans don’t celebrate full freedom today. But, undeniably things have improved, and can improve further, and in that struggle for racial equality our communities will need to rely on courage, resilience, sacrifice, unity, and pride, just as Americans always have.
I argue that in order for America to get better, we must unite as Americans, yet as Kaepernick continues to sit during the national anthem, he is being divisive. I appreciate his bravery in being willing to act against the grain, I just wish he hadn’t chosen the national anthem as his modus operandi for affronting our nation.
Lastly, while my words may never reach his ears, and may never reach the ears of many, I hope the ultimate takeaway from my words is that while Kaepernick is misguided in sitting for the national anthem, that it isn’t about the national anthem- it’s about effectively dealing with racial inequality. The national anthem has been a point of contention in the past, most recently when Gabby Douglas was (unjustifiably) berated for standing but not putting her hand over her heart, and I hope in the future we can avoid being distracted by the triviality of defending a song and focus instead on combating the real issues at hand.
