(09-27-2017, 06:47 PM)B2hibry Wrote:

(09-27-2017, 06:12 PM)TJBender Wrote: It is somewhat hypocritical. What scares me more, though, is that the national anthem and flag have been made into sacred cows. It's not the lyrics or the cloth that matter; it's the idea behind them. When we subjugate what the flag stands for to the flag itself and act accordingly, we've started down a dangerous path.

What? Hopefully, I misinterpreted what you wrote...
It is the very essence and context with which the Nations Flag stands that makes it special and it should be held in high regard. Do you know how many immigrated to this land and found peace and solace in just the mere sight of our flag flying high? The fact that it is on a military uniform and military aircraft displaying strength in the weakest of situations (humanitarian aid) is special. After a long week outside the wire in some hell hole, coming across the flag flying high at a FOB brings a feeling of relief and sanctity. I'm sorry, but when you look at the flag as being just some piece of cloth or just some vacant symbol, that's the dangerous part. National pride is important and used to be something to brag about. It was sacred and unified us, yet it's slipping away to national selfishness.

I think you interpreted me correctly. I hold the flag in high esteem, but only as a symbol, and I'm not a big "symbol" guy. I believe in the ideas and principles behind the flag, and what the flag represents. To that end, yes, the physical representation of the flag is important to me, but if someone were to kneel before that flag as an act of defiance, I wouldn't have any issue with them doing so.


That's not to say that I agree with the players kneeling here. I don't take issue with the protest itself, and I actually agree with the players (mostly) that there are some serious problems here that could threaten this country if not addressed, but the message is lost in the method. When one chooses a particularly inflammatory method of protest, two things happen. One, they get a lot of attention. Two, that attention is so focused on the method of protest that the meaning behind it becomes a secondary dialogue. That's happened here, as anyone who saw the sidelines in London could have predicted. I think there are far more effective manners of protest, and I think we'll see more and more teams go towards standing with locked arms going forward. That said, I value the ideas, beliefs and principles represented by the flag far more than I do a piece of cloth with stars and stripes on it. If someone wants to kneel before the flag in a show of protest, I will firmly believe that they are making a mistake by doing so, but I will defend to the death their right to do it. Nationalism be damned. When a symbol is held above the principles it is designed to represent, nationalism becomes dangerous.

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