What do I think About an NFL Player Protesting?

Today we had a See You at The Pole event at our School. As a Christian School an opportunity to pray for a community is a daily norm for us. Our community needs prayer, as does our state and country. We are, like most schools in our area, a multi-cultural school. With students and staff from many different backgrounds and cultures. But, before I go too far, I want to warn you. I am a retired military veteran (20+years, US Navy), I am a Pastor at a Baptist Church and Christian School, I own a gun, I own and ride a motorcycle, I am married to a woman, I have children and grandchildren. I tell you these facts knowing that they will color (for some) the view you now have of me and that is sad.

You see a prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. Some of you now have a prejudice against me without ever having met me. And, some of you now have a prejudice for me without ever having met me, both views are wrong and short sighted. You may never consider yourself prejudice, but you are. 

So, let me state the obvious. As a Veteran, I committed my life to protect and defend the Constitution of these United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I did so willingly, serving what I believed was a greater good. I never considered I was fighting for the wrong parts of America, I fought for the right. I fought for my family, friends, loved ones. I fought for the guy on my left and right. I wanted my shipmates to get home safe and have a safe home to get back too. So, I see these protest in the following way:

1. Each NFL player has the right to protest peacefully. If they choose to take a knee, they have the right to do that. I fought for the right! Just as anyone in the stands can refuse to stand or take off their cap.

2. Each NFL player has the right to stand for the National Anthem. As does each American. I stand, take off my hat and place my hand over my heart, not as a reflection of or in agreement with the things that are wrong with America but just the opposite, the things that are right about America! 

3. I choose therefore to stand in honor of those men and women who died, not for the wrong in this country, not to disrespect a portion of our citizens, but to honor those who have made us all free, for the idea of a free America, for the ideal that America represents. 

It is those who died, who believed with their last breath that the potential greatness of this country was worth not just the fight, but was worth their life. They died so that this ideal, this country could live. Abraham Lincoln said it like this, "It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus for so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Even with all the perceived issues, The United States of America affords the greatest opportunities of any country on the planet. Has America always gotten it, right? No, but we have gotten it right more than we have gotten it wrong. Why else would millions continue to flock to our shores? We are the land of opportunity. When things go wrong, we have a legal system the ensures our rights to a fair hearing, to certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Among these rights is the right to protest. So, an NFL player taking a knee in protest does not bother me, they have the right. However, do so with a purpose. The President of the United States made some remarks about the NFL players. He also has the right to free speech, while I do not agree with the language, He has a right to an opinion. In response, nearly, every NFL team responded in protest, along with their owners. For this reason, it is evident that those owners and players who knelt in protest following the President’s remarks where not protesting a social issue, they simply and clearly where responding to one man’s remarks, like a first grader responding when a classmate calls him or her a name. For me this felt more like a playground confrontation between two toddlers than a call for social reform! Why had these owners and players not did this before? If it was an important issue the day after the President’s remarks, it was an important issue the day before.

This isn’t about making real social change, it is about self. The selfish person will protest what someone said about them, with no real plan or solution to a real social issue. I attempted to educate my children to the fact, that, when someone calls you a name you have a choice. If the comment, name, accusation is true and you can fix it, do so if it is needed. If the comment, name, accusation is not true don’t believe it. In the end, the one making a rude comment is almost always expressing a commentary of who they are, not a commentary on who you are. Dr. Martin Luther King said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Simply, protesting because someone offended you does not address the issue, being hateful, calling names, and pointing fingers is not a solution. Dr. King understood that. We cannot solve the racial (prejudice) problems in America with more division, more racism, more prejudice. We must find the common and gather there, converse with each other, dropping the assumptions and picking up our humanity. Like Dr. King, "I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."