Land of the free ...including Colin Kaepernick

Last Friday night I was playing pool at RP Tracks, just off campus, enjoying $5 worth of music that I pumped into the jukebox: a healthy mix of Rick Ross and 80’s pop songs. Amidst my completely normal playlist someone slipped in a peculiar piece of music: “God Bless the U.S.A.†as performed by Lee Greenwood.  

The patriotic track took me off-guard. A duo of 30-somethings immediately stopped their gossiping to join in on their chorus with the rest of their inebriated friends: “And I gladly staaaand upppp neeextt tooo youuu and defend her still todaaaaay. ‘Cause their ain’t no doubt, I love this laaaaaaand. God bless the U.S.AAAAAAA.â€

I smirked as I chalked up my pool cue, but then my heart quickly sank. Maybe it was the combination of a bottle of wine I had helped finish previous to my game and a Miller that rested on the wooden chair next to the pool table, but “God Bless the U.S.A.†took me to a dark place that night. As the rest of RP Tracks seemed to join in on a loud, hearty rendition of the song I started to think about the huge divisions within this country. I started to think about the never-ending Facebook meme-stream of “I’m-right-you’re-wrong†reposts. I started to think about the genuine anger that has become so visible at violent political rallies this year. I started to think about the amount of Americans who just seem to hate entire amounts of other Americans.

I could have had another sip of Miller High Life and joined in on “God Bless the U.S.A.†that night...but I didn’t. I wasn’t feeling it. I just played pool.

I don’t know whether whoever que’d the song on the jukebox did it as a response to an event that happened the same night, but I do know that at that moment I had not yet heard about 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit through the national anthem in protest for what he described as wrongdoings against African Americans and minorities in the United States.

It wasn’t until I was driving to class the following Monday that I heard a Memphis rock DJ, who will not be named, indirectly tell Kaepernick he “needs to stand up, boy!†The DJ was convincing about supporting the troops, but I couldn’t help but feel that his tone was too intense. Too heated. It was like he was waiting for a reason to be mad. I also wondered if The Who would appreciate him using the intro of  “Eminence Front†as a platform for the DJ’s own opinions on the air.  

I mulled over the story for days. Was Kaepernick unpatriotic for refusing to stand for the national anthem? Were the “I’m-right-you’re-wrong†memes out-of-line for bashing the “I’m-right-you’re-wrong†cable newscasters who criticized Kaepernick’s actions or ...inactions? Finally I made a decision. Kaepernick didn’t hurt anyone physically the night he refused to stand, but as the saying goes, “2016: someone hurt my feelings.â€

The Blaze host Tomi Lahren’s worst criticism of Kaepernick was that “there are patriots of every race that have fought and died for this country and we honor the flag and sing the anthem as a reminder†but as #VeteransforKaepernick seemed to quickly demonstrate, many of those fighting for our freedoms (including speech) felt like speaking for themselves. Military service members offered their support on Twitter with comments like “I serve to protect your freedoms, not a song,†“Don’t use my service--or that of any veteran--to justify the silencing of black Americans†and “I served 25yrs in the AF to protect everyone’s 1st Amend rights.†One woman even praised a screenshot of an Instagram comment that read “He sat in peaceful protest because he felt motivated to exercise his first amendment right in response to a grievous social issue. That’s un-American how? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize we were emulating North Korea.â€

Of all the ways to protest Colin Kaepernick chose an extremely peaceful one. He exercised his first amendment right and we live in a country where people are fighting for that kind of freedom. America as a whole is wonderful, patriotism in essence is wonderful, but blind patriotism and patriotism for patriotism’s sake should not always be expected. I personally realized that I would be a hypocrite if I criticized Colin Kaepernick for not “feeling it†that night. Sometimes you don’t feel it, and that’s ok. This mediocre pool player’s stance might not be anywhere near as brave or notable as professional football player Kaepernick’s, but I look forward to both of us “feeling it,†honestly, in the future. Whether you sit or stand, sing or not: God Bless the U.S.A. for our freedom to choose.