The other night I turned on the NFL Network while cooking some dinner so that my husband could come home to an atmosphere that says, "You've had a long day, now it's time for one of our favorite good ol' American Fall pastimes!" It was still on the pregame commentary but I figured it sets the tone and lets our little one know there's no cartoons on right now. As I was preparing dinner I kept overhearing the commentators as they spoke in hushed tones about this "very important protest" in light of the President's words over the weekend.
"What words?" I thought to myself.
"He essentially said everyone in the NFL are SOB's..."
"Essentially means that isn't exactly what he said so what did he say?" I thought as I was still confused.
"Well folks, you'd have to be living under a rock to not know what he said..."
"ALRIGHT, I've been under a rock! What did he freaking say?" Now they were making me crazy.
This went on for an hour and a half.
After my husband got home I asked him if he knew what was said. He didn't. He pulled up a video and played it for us and I heard President Trump's voice echo, "Get that Son of a Bitch off the field!"
Then I literally laughed out loud.
"Was that it? Seriously, that's all he said?" I questioned.
Okay, I get why people are offended. Was that Presidential or respectful? No. Am I making excuses for him? No. Did he say what many of us were already thinking? YES! Could he have expressed that sentiment in a more appropriate way? Yes. But just to be reasonable, what else has our culture allowed?
Our Family Channels play daytime family movies with profanity.
There are sexual themes in kid's cartoons.
Madonna can publicly talk about how she wants to blow up the White House without getting arrested.
Kathy Griffin can have a magazine photo shoot with a prosthetic decapitated head of the President, also without getting arrested.
We've got American students who have received a free education most of their lives along with freedom to pursue the American dream who stomp on and burn the flag without repercussion.
College students get a day off of class when they don't like election results.
While officers and military personnel cannot demonstrate when in uniform, athletes can.
Pretty much in every avenue people expect to be able to abuse their 1st Amendment Rights without suffering any consequences for their words or actions.
We are entitled to say and do what we want without regard to other people because it's a free country!
We reap what we sow, America. There has been a lot of disrespect sown and so many of our citizens continue to sow disrespect as if that defiance will bring them any respect in return. It won't. Believe me. Showing respect for the flag as it represents the sacrifices made for our freedoms, and expressing concerns about society in a respectful manner is how you will reap more respect in our culture (See This is Why I Stand). Instead, some NFL players disrespect the anthem, the President disrespects them, more of them disrespect the President back, people argue with their friends about it on Facebook, and let the endless loop repeat! And repeat, and repeat...
An example of an effective activist in our nation's history is Martin Luther King Jr. Are we any better off because of the defiance of the Black Panthers, or did MLK's "I have a Dream" speech continue to resonate with Americans for decades after his passing? How much of his "dream" has come to fruition? He spoke "life" into what was wrong with human rights in our country, and out of his activism came life and unity for all Americans. Now THAT was progress!
We have always enjoyed football from the commentary to the games. Now that the commentary is so clouded with drama in something that was simply a source of enjoyment for our family, it's hard to enjoy it. So I called my cable company and said, "I'd like to drop NFL Sunday ticket. I bet you're hearing that a lot these days!" The rep laughed and said, "Yes ma'am, we are."
Remember when family and friends got together to watch football on Sundays while they escaped politics, enjoyed being off work, and sports basically unified people who couldn't be more different? See, playing the game they are so good at is the absolute best thing a professional athlete can do to bring Americans together. SERIOUSLY! You guys made a bigger impact on national unity when you just played your game! Making a statement during the anthem accomplishes the opposite. For that reason, the NFL activists just need to stop.
But the money I'm saving on my cable bill is pretty nice.
