Jesus Fish

What’s wrong with kneeling during the National Anthem?

Updated 9/25/2017 This post was originally about Colin Kaepernick, but has since grown into a national phenomenon. Players and coaches are kneeling to send a message. I’ve updated the end of this post with more current commentary and news.

Kneeling, sitting, lying down, these are normal body positions unless the National Anthem is playing, then they are displays of protest and “unpatriotic offense”. This is how it would seem based on all of the commentary I’ve been hearing from those in sports media, morning radio, Facebook. Most people have heard by now that San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick has made sitting or kneeling during the playing of the National Anthem his sign of protest. Most people who know this know that Kaepernick is protesting because he feels the United States of America doesn’t treat all citizens equally. Stating,

I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color…

I get why he feels that way, and people are allowed to disagree, it’s their right to do so. But it’s also Kaepernick’s right to sit, or kneel, or play hopscotch, or whatever during the playing of the Anthem.

The (human) heart of the matter

Ok, rights aside, since nobody is really debating rights. The real issue is pride. No, literally the entire issue pivots around pride, particularly national pride, but then also personal pride. As a Christian, I recognize that we are warned in the bible of the pitfalls of pride. And I’m fully aware of the roadblocks that can be set up when pride is paving the way. The biblical model for us is to think less of ourselves, more of others, and most of God.

Romans 12:3

…Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought…

and 2 Corinthians 10:17

But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

But what do we want to do instead? Shred Colin Kaepernick because he had the nerve to sit or kneel during the National Anthem. As if the Star-Spangled Banner is some song to be worshipped itself. And if that is hyperbole, what is so wrong with sitting? Many of the people trashing Kaepernick’s name wouldn’t stand in church on Sunday morning, but will stand for a song sung ritually at a sporting event. How messed up is that? This is how we prioritize. Put Country and Football before God’s commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves.

If we could get to where God wants us to be, we’ll be treating Colin Kaepernick with the respect he deserves as a human, and addressing the issue that has him protesting the flag in the first place. Treat others with love regardless of their color, gender, sexual orientation. Jesus’s love is compelling, and we are supposed to be bringing his love. Let’s not tear down another man for the sake of a song and a flag. God loves people, not songs and flags.

Update 9/25/2017

President Trump weighed in on the topic of kneeling protesters referring to anyone protesting during the National Anthem as a “son of a b—h”. I don’t think this contributes to a healthy conversation. I think it actually builds walls and perpetuates animosity.

Some NASCAR teams have added their 2 cents. Richard Childress offered any driver who kneels during the national anthem a “Greyhound bus” ride after the song ends. “Anybody that works for me should respect the country we live in. So many people gave their lives for it. This is America.” Childress said. Childress is entitled to hire and fire as he sees fit, in accordance with the law. But I find it interesting that, more than a good work ethic, or a high level of proficiency at one’s profession, Childress offers “respect (for) the country” as being the highest value. By the way, doesn’t coercion seem a little…”un-American”? Since when is it an honorable thing to threaten people with firing if they don’t agree with your traditions?

Basketball star LeBron James also contributed to the discussion adding, “It’s not about the disrespect of the flag and our military and everybody that has made this world free; it is about equality and people having the option and the freedom to speak upon things they feel that’s not just.”

Isn’t it that simple, really? These players aren’t trying to disrespect the flag, the military, or even the country. They are trying to raise an issue that they genuinely feel needs examining. By refusing to acknowledge this, it seems to reinforce that we need to take a deeper look.

The best I can say about this, is that it’s getting people talking. Unfortunately, the talk is often full of hate and ignorance. Feel free to leave a comment if you’d like. Let’s just be respectful of each other.

23 comments

    1. Regardless of my “right” to speak of God, I talk about God because he changed my life. In another country, with fewer rights, I may not have the legal right to talk about God, but that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t.

      But let’s move past God for a moment. I sense that you place a high value on military service. I don’t want to diminish that, but do you think they did that as a selfless act or do they expect payback? If they expect something from civilians in return, then it’s not freedom. This country has made mistakes that we should all be ashamed of. Segregation of whites and non-whites was not terribly long ago. The government enforced lawful racism. Was it wrong to do that? Yes! Protests helped change the landscape and give freedom to more than just whites. We may still have “white only” public transportation and restrooms if not for the protesters. Not everything the U.S. Government does is right. They need to be challenged.

      Alongside protesters there are other roles people have played that have helped make this country great. Teachers, law enforcement, fire and rescue, banks and lenders, hard working men and women. And among all of those categories, there have been some who are corrupt, but there have been those who served honorably.

      Thanks for reading and commenting. God bless you.

      1. As to ignorance let’s look at what the Civil war was for and what Abraham Lincoln said about the incident. Kneeling now during the national anthem is actually increasing racism instead of equality. It gives KKK, Neo-Nazis, etc…. more time for “freedom of speech”.

    2. That comment has absolutely nothing to do with the discussion. In fact, it shows you totally do not understand the level of the conversation. The flag and the national anthem have nothing to do with freedom ,the constitution or being a responsible citizen.
      The strength of our country lies in the fabric of an educated socially responsible citizenry. These ” protests” by these athletes remind us that we have work to do and honor those who fought for freedom. Your comments dishonor the constitution and the sacredness that we should show to our collective history built on protest against the silence of conformity and comfort.

  1. Disgraceful. They are dishonoring all our men and women black and white who gave their lives for our country. They are employees and the the NFL better put a stop to it. Let them express themselves on their own time. Bit you do not see that happening. They go home to their multi million dollar houses and enjoy all the freedoms they have thanks to all that the American flag represents. HYPOCRITS. I am a dire hard Strelers fan but if I see this continues I will boycott football forever.

    1. HYPOCRITS WANTING ATTENTION. NFL BETTER PUT AN END TO THIS RIGHT NOW BEFORE THE SEASON STARTS. THEY ARE EMPLOYEES AND ALL EMPLOYEES HAVE RULES TO FOLLOW DURING WORK HOURS. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

      1. And your ALL CAPS is dishonoring everyone who is reading your comment. The employees, in this case, are salary workers. They put in time both on camera and off. If the NFL doesn’t take action, it’s their prerogative. You commanding that they obey the rules is literally none of your business. Try to settle down some.

    2. Thank you for your comment. Without being an active protester, I think it’s safe to say that they are in no way intentionally dishonoring the men and women of the armed forces. The U.S. is more than its military or its police force. There are rotten eggs everywhere, in law enforcement, in churches, in schools, in public and in private. I would love to get the commentary of someone on the teams who is a protester to provide a balanced commentary.

  2. I WILL MAKE MY NOTE ALL CAPS TOO, BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING I FEEL AS STRONGLY ABOUT. It is our right to say we don’t like what they are doing. Just because they are on TV and make millions of dollars DOES NOT give them the right to disrespect what our soldiers have fought and died for. We can make a difference and I believe you’re going to see it in you ticket sales since money is the only thing that makes a difference to these players. God bless America!

    1. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I realize that this is a controversial issue and I don’t mean to be insensitive to that. I would ask you, and others, to consider that people are protesting because they want a BETTER America. They desire an America that has true racial equality. I am not aware of a single protest that intends to disrespect those who fought and died for our freedom. Do you believe that all people are created equal?

  3. Orion, you are getting some interesting comments here. I am a veteran (26 years) of the military, as was my father (30 years). I am not sure why the people responding to you seem so concerned about the money these individuals are making. It sounds like they are kind of defeating their arguments. Our men and women who have served in the military, and those who gave their lives was in defense of our Country, our Constitution, you know The Constitution of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA, which provides that everyone be treated equally and fairly regardless of the color of their skin, their gender, their religious beliefs, etc. No where in any etiquette book that I have ever read does it say you can not kneel during the anthem, to me it is a form or prayer, not disrespect. And I take no disrespect in them doing so, my service to this country gave them that right. These individuals are doing this because they feel there is a great deal of inequality in this country, in America . . . the home of the FREE and the BRAVE. Everyone in America is being charged with a great deal negative thoughts and feelings and I feel we ALL should be working together and not letting ourselves be torn apart. I think that everyone should read the entire Constitution and quit taking key words out it and turning in into a conflict.

    1. Thank you for your comment and your service! I think you keyed into the critical point when you mentioned the people of the United States of America being charged with negative thoughts. Peaceful discourse is where the real change gets done. Anger, violence, shouting, name-calling; these only serve to entrench people in their own views and not understand where other men and women are coming from. We don’t all have to agree on everything, but lets treat each other with respect and compassion.

      1. I agree whole heartedly, some seem so busy trying to make America (at least that is how I feel) pure, but the one factor they all seem to be forgetting is that we all originated from somewhere else in the WORLD. We all need to look at the whole picture, what the United States of America surely is, a melting pot of people, cultures, beliefs, gosh . . . this is so sad.

        I have always tried to live by a very simple rule that I learned early in my life, and for the most it seems to have work. “Treat people as you want to be treated,” or as you said with respect and compassion.

  4. I like to know if they know who gave them the rights for anything. Rights and respect is earn and they haven’t earn it take them to the cemetery and show them who gave them those rights. And another thing none in today’s world no anything about being oppressed all those people are dead my gosh if we’re talking about black and whites they have no idea what they talking about take one good look around you . I have a daughter married to a black man and two granddaughters they have the most beautiful children so tell witch half of those children’s is better. I pray for people that can’t get over things that happened before they ware born that’s history.

    1. Thank you for your comment and contribution to this discussion. I would only add, just because things are better than they used to be, doesn’t mean the mission is accomplished. God bless you.

  5. I grew up loving sports and I have been big sports fan for years, however I also am a Christian and honestly I have to also admit I’ve let sports have too much importance in my life at times. We’ve let sports get out of their proper place in this country.Winning seems to be all that matters. Unfortunately the fact is we the people in the USA have sadly allowed our sports to be elevated into idol worship status. Maybe God has had enough. This whole thing has exposed how ridiculous the amount of power sports figures have in this country. I see a lot of arrogance and pride whether its justified or not in kneeling for our anthem. Pride and arrogance is not something God approves of ,if you don’t believe it take some time and read your bible. This tactic is divisive and was started by one man who happened to be a sports figure. So how can people who don’t agree with NFL players and coaches kneeling all of a sudden become the bad guy? Were they the one’s who started the controversy?They also have a right to not agree just as much as anyone. Maybe if we all started looking for ways to unite rather than ways that divide we could make some real progress in this country. Just a thought

    1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. In discussing this issue with several people I know personally, I’ve found that most people believe that they are on the correct side of the issue. I wonder what would happen if people just tried to think about those on the other side of the issue. I think we’d actually learn some compassion. Your comment sounds like it was based on true, heart-felt beliefs. If the protesters also have true, heart-felt beliefs, then maybe there is no incorrect side after all. To your point about “how can people who don’t agree with NFL players and coaches kneeling all of a sudden become the bad guy?”, I don’t think that makes someone a bad guy. I think when people want to shut down other people’s free speech, that makes them a bad guy. When someone calls someone else names for standing up for what they see as injustice, that makes them a bad guy. As people, we are going to disagree, but are we going to do it respectfully? That largely remains to be seen. Thanks again for your time and piece of mind. -Your brother in Christ, Orion.

  6. Just wondering if you still take the same position you did in 9/25/17 article? This taking a knee seems to have mutated into something quite different in 2020 especially taking a knee for BLM movement. I wonder how many people are taking a knee just because others around them are and yet they have no idea what the core values of the BLM movement are. (As a Christian I find myself struggling with their statements of belief.) Some are taking the knee because of intimidation or just because it’s the “flavor of the month”. It appears BLM has moved away from their beginnings. I would like to see the BLM movement get involved with the real issues of our racial divides by going into their communities with positive messages and projects for our youth. It would be a powerful message if they would speak out against all the injustices that are happening now with rioting and looting and destructive behavior that has gone far beyond the unfortunate and evil murder of George Floyd. Would be interested in your valuable thoughts in the here and now. Thank you.

    1. Somehow I missed your comment, Pat. I wasn’t ignoring you. The middle of the year got quite crazy for me. I had a pretty significant surgery, work was nuts. Anyway.

      I (in theory) really value the BLM vs. ALM (All Lives Matter) discussion. I say “in theory” because in practice many people become completely irrational in favor of their emotions. The kneeling of 2017 brought out the passion on both sides and people threw out reason, if they ever even had any, to parade their “heroes”. Some Americans hailed those who took the knee, others praised those who condemned the kneelers. Much division.

      In 2020, you see the same hearts of men through a different filter. Some think BLM means ‘Black Lives Matter (more than others)’. Some see ALM as ‘All Lives Matter (so don’t talk to me about Black lives)’. If we drop bias and emotion and look at the phrases, “Black Lives Matter” and “All Lives Matter”, both are true! Logically stated, All lives matter, therefore Black lives matter. Who but the most racist and hateful person could disagree?

      But as we know, people place meaning and symbolism and politics into words and phrases, and these common English terms gain ‘new meaning’. The rational among us are then left to try to decipher what the current “meaning” is and navigate gracefully through or around them. I hate it. Why can’t we just talk and agree or disagree and still not hate each other?

      Because, in my understanding, the flesh is at war with the Spirit. And the flesh keeps wanting to hold power over other flesh. The Spirit wants us to submit to Him, the ultimate authority. But we want to exercise authority over each other, and oppress, or repress, or suppress, or depress. Jesus offers freedom from all that.

      I better conclude something…If, at least the Christian, would refuse to take part in the polarization of politics and merely obey God, we could speak light into the darkness of the world. Let’s hear each other, empathize with each other, encourage each other.

      We must remember that we have all been wrong about something before. We must understand that we will be wrong again. We must consider if we are wrong at present. Then we can truly hear the other side of the argument.

    1. So you raise an interesting point that I have considered recently as the Olympics were going on. Protesting your country during the Olympics while simultaneously representing that country as a participant is disloyal. Your country invited you and as far as I know paid your way in. You wouldn’t even be there on the world’s stage if it weren’t for them. Of all the countries represented in the Olympics, some have more humanitarian polices than others. But that isn’t the venue for that discussion. It’s about the athletes and the competition. Our internal conflicts (as a nation) are not for the world to see. We should show dignity when meeting with world class athletes and leave the politics at home.

      Regarding the rules for honoring our national anthem, that raises another issue I’ve been considering lately. Your link displays rules from the US Code of Law. It explains how we should treat the flag and how to behave during the playing of the national anthem. It also includes a super creepy clause. Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 8 (j) https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title4/chapter1&edition=prelim
      In it reads this statement, “The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing.” As a person of reason, I struggle with “considering” a non-living thing to be a “living thing”. I, in fact, refuse to consider it as such. When we “honor” the flag, we are as if honoring a living thing according to the Code of Law. To this I refuse. I no longer pledge allegiance to flags or nations or people, but to God alone.

      Anyway, thanks for the discussion!

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