Oct 1, 2016 5 min read

Unpatriotic?

The refusal by the San Francisco 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick to stand during the national anthem prior to his team’s games has raised some uncomfortable issues. Critics accuse him of disrespecting the people who fought and died for the United States. Supporters argue they fought and died to allow him to do what he’s doing, and America is the better country for it.

Political protest is designed to make people uncomfortable. If everything were going well, there would be no need to protest. Protests demand you pay attention. Kaepernick is protesting the racial injustices minorities face when confronted by police. He argues police are too quick to use lethal force against minorities, especially males. Events in Tulsa, Okla., and Charlotte, N.C., suggest Kaepernick has a point.

While I’m not sure I agree with Kaepernick’s form of protest, since it’s not clear what the end game is, it has clearly brought the issue to the nation’s attention. It has also spread. An entire high school football team in New Jersey took a knee, which inspired New York Times columnist David Brooks to argue that they were being short-sighted, because the anthem is part of our “inclusive civic religion,” the “inclusivity” of which is especially beneficial to minorities. As an example, the U.S. Army has been one of the more racially progressive institutions in modern society, and historically, the sacrifices made by black soldiers in our nation’s wars helped solidify their claims to citizenship. Service in the military is often a patriotic expression. Patriotism is a powerful idea; there are few more noble acts than people being willing to sacrifice their lives for their country.

But there is a split in America about what it means to be a patriot. Conservatives tend to believe in the notion of “my country, right or wrong.” Or alternatively, in the immortal words of Merle Haggard, “If you don’t love it, leave it.” While America may have flaws, conservatives believe pointing them out is divisive and emboldens our enemies. This was evident in the conservative reaction to protests against the war in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s.

Liberals, on the other hand believe loving your country requires you speak out when something is wrong, instead of pretending the nation is flawless. As with anyone you love, if you see them doing something wrong, you don’t applaud them for it, you try to help them change their behavior. Many of the people who spoke out against the invasion of Iraq in 2003 were accused of being unpatriotic, yet they felt they did so out of a love for the country, not disrespect for it.

Emma Goldman, a radical critic of World War I, attributed the senseless killing of that conflict to patriotism: “Patriotism assumes that our globe is divided into little spots, each one surrounded by an iron gate. Those who have had the fortune of being born on some particular spot, consider themselves better, nobler, grander, more intelligent than the living beings inhabiting any other spot. It is, therefore, the duty of everyone living on that chosen spot to fight, kill, and die in the attempt to impose his superiority upon all the others.”

This is Donald Trump’s tribal patriotism, right down to his proposed wall on the southern border. But it is a false patriotism, at least for the United States. Because while the United States is a physical place, one of the things that makes America unique is that it is a nation founded on ideals; the belief that “all men are created equal” and that individuals have the right to live in liberty and pursue happiness. And, as a nation of immigrants, many people were drawn to this country because of those ideals; they were not born here, they chose to become Americans.

It is somewhat ironic many of Kaepernick’s critics are conservative, because they traditionally defend the right of the individual to stand up to a strong central government. Since Kaepernick is risking his career (and has pledged to donate $1 million to the cause), he clearly believes in what he’s doing. He is not a spoiled athlete looking for attention.

Blind patriotism would suggest “a nail that stands up, should get beaten down” and follow orders. But historically, one of the reasons the U.S. military has consistently been effective, is that U.S. soldiers are not blindly obedient, and are willing to question orders that don’t make sense, or improvise as necessary. American soldiers retain their ability to act as individuals, even while voluntarily subverting their needs to the needs of their country. Soldiers marching in lockstep, or massive displays of synchronized conformity, such as those demonstrated at the Chinese Olympics, have never been America’s style.

Whether or not you agree with either the goals or methods of Kaepernick’s protest, his acting on his strongly held beliefs is part of what makes America great.

Kent James is a resident of East Washington.