By Tia Will
On August 21, the Vanguard ran an article on patriotic observances and protests to them. Enough points were raised about my position, and what others believed it to be, to raise my level of interest enough to write an article about my true feelings, not those that others would ascribe to me.
I believe that symbols, such as the flag, a national anthem, or those belonging to a religion are of variable importance to the people to whose beliefs they pertain. The degree of attachment to a symbol may or may not have any relationship to how intensely one feels about one’s country or one’s religion. For example, some Christians choose to wear a cross. Others do not. That certainly is no measure of the strength of their religious belief. I have no strong attachments to any purely symbolic item, be it flag, national anthem, or pledge. That does not mean that I love my country any more or less than anyone else. It simply means that I have not formed the symbolic attachment that many have.
I do not believe that my choice of means to show respect should be considered in any way as “patronizing” anyone else. We have a supposedly free country in which I should be able to express my adherence, or respect for the adherence of others, to a means of showing respect in any way of my choosing – be that remaining seated, standing, taking a knee, singing or pledging. That is my right as a citizen. I see no reason that my right should not carry the same weight or be more or less respected than anyone else’s.
I have also faced this dilemma of how to show appropriate respect in a number of religious settings. As someone who has developed a deep spirituality and system of morals not associated with any of the major religious traditions, it is often hard for me to know how to remain both true to myself and respectful of the worshipers at events I have attended. I have chosen to seek guidance from the congregants on those occasions. While in Turkey, on the advice of Muslim family members, I covered my head only when entering a mosque or other sacred space. When attending a Jewish ceremony recently, I asked about proper attire and was told that a head covering, while not necessary, would be appreciated and so I chose to wear one from those offered at the entrance. I rose and stood with 
the assembly and sat when they sat even though the ritual held no religious meaning for me. I did it out of respect as I had been assured was appropriate. At a Catholic memorial service, I likewise followed the advice of my friend and rose, kneeled and sat when they did, but of course did not take part in communion.
I do not know how any of those actions were perceived by the members of the various congregations who did not know me. There may have been some there who perceived my actions as insincere or egregious in some way. What I do know is that I had no such intent and was following advice from one of their congregants on the most appropriate behavior.
So now, back to patriotism. When I was in junior high, I was faced with a dilemma. I knew that I did not agree with the militarism of our national anthem. I knew that I did not see that the pledge of allegiance to a “flag” was in keeping with my growing sense of how our country often does not live up to our stated national goals. I could, however, see it as an aspirational statement that in my mind had nothing at all to do with the flag. Because we still recited the pledge of allegiance daily in school, and frequently sang the national anthem at assemblies, I asked for advice both from my mother and from my homeroom teacher. Fortunately, both took me seriously and we worked out a means that both felt would be acceptable. I was to stand silently out of respect for the beliefs of the other students. If there were parts of the pledge or anthem that I felt comfortable with, I could certainly join in. Never during the remainder of junior high school, high school, college or any public event has this ever been a problem. I have been asked on occasion, but never criticized once I have explained the reasons behind my choice.
One last question was asked that I would like to address. That is about what symbols would I like to see used that I could fully support. I like David’s response about the Constitution since it is both a founding document, and an eloquent statement of the aspirations of our nation which is not inherently militaristic in nature. As for a national anthem, I favor America The Beautiful as a statement of that which is cherished by all in our nation, without regard to militaristic prowess or superiority over other humans or their choices. I truly believe that it is possible to strongly adhere to our own beliefs, without adversely judging those of others. As a strong proponent of diversity, this mutual respect is what I would like to see for our country.
Hi Tia,
Thanks for the article. Maybe I’m weird but I have a much different view of the Kap issue. I don’t really care what he does. The issue for me is does he have the right to use his employment as a platform for his personal political advocacy?
If any of the people in the news were at a hometown event and made a statement then that, to me, would be their right. However if they want to do so while at work then I believe the employer has an right to offer reasonable accommodation for their views. In this case it would be allowing them to stay in the locker room until the Anthem was over or similar.
Football players are not “athletes” in the sense that someone in the Olympics are, they are “entertainers” like back-up singers or members of an orchestra. If they cease to be useful for selling tickets and jerseys they don’t have a career.
If I were an NFL owner I would never hire Kap, he is not that great, carries baggage, and does not sell tickets or jerseys. In addition the NFL has a thriving sideline in raiding the public treasury and he may make getting a municipal subsidy harder.
Good point Jim, we already know that players kneeling during the anthem has cost the NFL much fan support and televison viewers. Do employees have the right to harm their employer’s business? If I owned a business where I knew one of my employee’s actions was turning away customers I sure would take action.
I work in a company with >50K employees in 90+ countries. If I went to a political event I would not wear a company shirts and it’s unimaginable to me to to go to an event hosted by my company and make myself and my politics the center of attention.
Kap in particular has a problem, he’s not a great player and therfore is easily replaced and he does not have a connection to fans. Contrast Kap to Marshawn for example who makes his own statements but is a fan favorite. Maybe it’s because Marshawn has a masculine image while Kap is seen as too girly to be a QB.
Marshawn can sell tickets and jerseys in his sleep.
I respect an individual’s right to do as they choose, but that doesn’t mean I have to respect the person.
Keith
“I respect an individual’s right to do as they choose, but that doesn’t mean I have to respect the person.”
I completely agree with this comment. I would like to point out that this is exactly how I feel when I read comments that imply that we should “work with”45 and the Republicans on the president’s agenda. There is nothing that I respect about the current occupant of the WH or his agenda , and yet there is a line of thinking that goes that I should “fall into line” because he is 45. Respect must be earned. I stand by your right to not respect Kaepernick and to use your economic ability to express that feeling. I would like to be extended the same right to my beliefs and not be told that I am unpatriotic, or that I don’t love the country, or have it implied ( as in the expression “hater”) that someone else knows the content of my heart.
We can agree with each other once more. I never respected 44 as I found his agenda to one of divisiveness. He did more to divide this country than most other presidents in our history.
“Good point Jim, we already know that players kneeling during the anthem has cost the NFL much fan support and televison viewers.”
Can you show hard data that contradicts the effect of presidential election coverage on those ratings?
(No, he can’t because there is none.) Idle oxidized speculation.
“The NFL has attributed this season’s drop in rates primarily to the above-average interest in the election, because while Sunday game-time ratings for ESPN, CBS, and NBC have gone down, those for Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC have gone up. Election coverage drew ratings away from the NFL in 2000 as well, during coverage of the George Bush and Al Gore election.
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Other factors contributing to the lower ratings include the early-season absence of several key players, increased online NFL offerings, and potentially over-saturation of the market, with games airing Sunday, Monday, and Thursday.”
CSM
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2016/1008/Are-national-anthem-protests-hurting-the-NFL-TV-ratings
I’ll repost my comment from a couple of days ago.
Don’t see where it makes any difference. Either you believe that any individual player can use NFL games as a platform for their own political/religious/social beliefs or you don’t.
So if you support Kap’s “right” get ready for anything anyone wants to do.
Tia
What is the age of students in junior high ? Junior high and militarism of our national anthem .
[moderator] edited. NO personal attacks, please.
How about you your background that you was so badly indoctrinated by the communist propaganda at such early age?
The age of students in junior high is 12 to 14. When I was in 8th grade at age 13, in 1969, the United States government held its first draft lottery. My older brother and cousin were subject to it. One got lucky and got a very high number. The other wasn’t so lucky.
The way the war was going, it seemed quite likely to me that I’d be facing that same lottery when I turned 18. As it happened, the last draft lottery was in December 1972, and the war ended just before I graduated from high school. But I can assure you, Jerry, that every young man my age was very aware of these issues. It was our government that was militarizing things. The flag represented what our government was doing.
You can bet I didn’t say the pledge of allegiance, nor would I sing the national anthem, though I was willing to stand silently for both. And yes, young people 12 to 14 are very capable of thinking for themselves.
Jim
“Either you believe that any individual player can use NFL games as a platform for their own political/religious/social beliefs or you don’t.”
Really ? Any player ? Then why no outcry when Tom Brady would make a religious tableau out of virtually every successful touchdown or critical successful play ? Why was this not seen as being as objectionable as Kaepernick’s protests ?
This is an important point because you have players kneeling for prayer, saying a prayer after a touchdown, kneeling silently. Some forms of expression are okay – some aren’t. The ones that aren’t offend the psyche of middle America.
Many players have sat out the Anthem or entered the stadium after the Anthem and many continue to do so.
It’s entertainment, don’t PO the customers! The NFL, NBA, NHL, other leagues have different customer bases just like HipHop and Indie rock have different standards of behavior. In rap you can record lyrics about beating down b!tches in the street while in Indie Rock that would be a big issue.
Or just stop having patriotic observances that are irrelevant to the entertainment.
Or you can just stay home and you won’t have to put up with any patriotic observances.
The movement seems to be growing, so I guess the NFL will have to decide if it wants to have African American players.
They may be choosing between having fans or having players.
If all professional sport were to disappear it would be OK with me. I’m happy with AYSO soccer.
#Boycottnfl
Google it, it’s a growing movement
Jerry
“How about you your background that you was so badly indoctrinated by the communist propaganda at such early age.?”
This I can tell you has never occurred. I am not a communist. You do not seem to acknowledge any difference between democratic socialism and communism. A pity because nuance means just as much on the left as it does on the right. You will notice that I do not call all conservatives “Nazis” because I understand there are gradations across a broad political spectrum.
But to answer your question about the evolution of my thoughts. The only indoctrination I received as a child and adolescent was from the right. I was raised in a very conservative town of 2000 people. We were almost exclusively white. There were no blacks, no Muslims, no Hispanics at the time I was in middle school ( except the Spanish teacher). My parents were racially biased conservative Christians. So what happened ? I read and thought about what I read. At the suggestion of the librarian, I read To Kill a Mockingbird which opened my eyes to the essential equality of all people even though faced with vastly unequal social circumstances. I read the Bible which taught me to doubt the literal meaning of its contents. Finally at around 15, I read Ayn Rand, and after a brief flirtation with the idea of individual empowerment, realized that she did not mean that this applied to everyone, but only to those she considered to be superior. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the she was not advocating a moral principle but the essential immorality of not loving anyone but oneself. This was confirmed when I learned that she supported and defended a rapist/murderer for acting on his “true to self “impulses.
These books formed the basis of my liberalism which I built on and refined over the years. I was never “brainwashed” in high school or college by “liberal instructors” since I was already far to the left of most of them by the time I reached that level.
Tia
Is not such thing as a democratic socialism . Socialism is a dictatorship. The democratic socialism is a communism or fascism like it was in Spain under Franco or in Italy under Mussolini The National Socialism as you know is Nazism or in different word extreme fascism, Hitlerism .If you label yourself as a democratic socialist than you are fascist or communist . I lived in democratic socialism country for 30 years . which had three parties system . The Polish United Workers Party , Democratic Socialist Party and Peasants Socialist Party . All there parties were communist parties under different labels than communist party You are mixing up socialists and socialist parties in countries like Sweden or even my native country Poland today but these parties are democratic parties which have more liberal social programs and they are celebrating May Day in form of picnics. These parties have nothing to do with a dictatorship named democratic or national socialism or communism. Some of the members are leaning toward Marxism or Lenin but in general these parties and their me members are akin closely to Democratic Party and Democrats in USA
Bernie Sanders labeled himself socialist, In fact he is a socialist of 1917 not of 2017. American Bolshevik In the United State you can not to label yourself as communist to be place on the ballot or to a public office or to teach in public schools . Socialist is ok if you make a pledge that you are not communist .
Jerry
Although I respect the life experiences that have brought you to the position you hold with regard to the political spectrum, as a previous political science undergrad major and partner to an individual with a keen interest in history, I disagree with your assessment of the spectrum of political thought on the left. The countries of the world to not exist in pure left or pure right leaning states but exist along a spectrum. Some have more freedom in some areas and less in others. For example, as far as freedom to rise economically through ones own efforts, Canada has more economic/social mobility now than does the US although they have a political system that is more left leaning than our own.
I do not label myself as anything. I believe that I am probably further to the left than most people but am not a purist about anything other than my pacifism. Virtually my only absolute is my belief that non defensive violence is completely unacceptable.
Well, when you accept that defensive violence is inconsistent with pacifism… or, would you clarify the term “pacifism”?
Defensive of whom? Yourself? That’s an easy one… your loved ones? A stranger in the US? A Jew in Germany, circa 1940?
Would you have opposed the entry of the US in WWII after Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declaration of war by Hitler against the US?
Defensive. To me this would include myself or any innocent who I am capable of aiding. I would have considered entering the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor defensive. We had been attacked. That to me makes entry into the war defensive by definition.
By contrast, I do not consider the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be defensive. These were weapons dropped on civilian populations when our own civilian population was no longer at risk.
Hard to judge about how I would have responded to the Jews plight circa 1940. Had I known what we know today, yes, I would consider it defensive. Had I known what a reasonably well informed member of the American public knew then, I don’t know since I don’t know how accurate their information was.
Tis,
You have a Euro-centrism of which you be not aware. The concept that making war is the business of a professional warrior class while the rest of the people have a “hall pass” is far from a universal concept.