Listening to the back and forth recently between President Trump and many NFL players, owners and coaches regarding their protest during the National Anthem I am struck by the fact that many people in America respect freedom of speech only as long as the speaker is saying something they want to hear.
The irony is that the 1st amendment to the Constitution explicitly preserves "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
And that is exactly what the NFL players, coaches, and owners involved in this very public debate are doing. I'll leave it for those involved in the protest to explain exactly what they are protesting and why. But let's not get this twisted. If kneeling and bowing your head during the playing of the National Anthem is our biggest problem then this country is in great shape!
Unfortunately, that is not the case. This argument regarding what is an acceptable protest is simply a distraction. Issues such as affordable health care, crumbling infrastructure, student loan debt, transitioning workers from manufacturing to tech jobs, police-community relations etc. need our attention and focus and far too often take a back seat to silly discussions such as what is and is not patriotic.
The word "patriotic" is defined as "having or expressing devotion to and vigorous support for one's country"
That definition is a bit obscure and is extremely dependent on your personal perception of devotion. The beauty of living in this amazing country is that NO ONE gets to tell another person how to be patriotic. And yes, the first amendment even protects the backlash to these protests such as angry fans burning $400 football jackets on YouTube in response to these protests. But I would ask that everyone participating in the debate of whether or not the NFL players should be kneeling during the National Anthem PLEASE take a step back, calm down and ponder the idea that by putting our focus and attention on this minor issue (and given the state of affairs in this country today this IS a minor issue) we are playing into the establishments wishes that we not ask questions such as:
I could go on and on but my my point is that if we continue to focus on small issues and refuse to discuss the real issues that affect and touch our daily lives we relinquish control to politicians who may or may not have our best interests at heart.
The irony is that the 1st amendment to the Constitution explicitly preserves "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
And that is exactly what the NFL players, coaches, and owners involved in this very public debate are doing. I'll leave it for those involved in the protest to explain exactly what they are protesting and why. But let's not get this twisted. If kneeling and bowing your head during the playing of the National Anthem is our biggest problem then this country is in great shape!
Unfortunately, that is not the case. This argument regarding what is an acceptable protest is simply a distraction. Issues such as affordable health care, crumbling infrastructure, student loan debt, transitioning workers from manufacturing to tech jobs, police-community relations etc. need our attention and focus and far too often take a back seat to silly discussions such as what is and is not patriotic.
The word "patriotic" is defined as "having or expressing devotion to and vigorous support for one's country"
That definition is a bit obscure and is extremely dependent on your personal perception of devotion. The beauty of living in this amazing country is that NO ONE gets to tell another person how to be patriotic. And yes, the first amendment even protects the backlash to these protests such as angry fans burning $400 football jackets on YouTube in response to these protests. But I would ask that everyone participating in the debate of whether or not the NFL players should be kneeling during the National Anthem PLEASE take a step back, calm down and ponder the idea that by putting our focus and attention on this minor issue (and given the state of affairs in this country today this IS a minor issue) we are playing into the establishments wishes that we not ask questions such as:
- Where are the Coal jobs that were supposed to return? Or at least let's have a status update on progress made on that end.
- Why are programs such as the Appalachian Regional Commission designed to support coal mining communities and train former coal miners for jobs in the tech industry up for elimination under the current administrations budget proposal?
- When can we expect a health care bill that will "take care of everyone" as promised by Donald Trump?
- Why are sll police not required to take de-escalation training?
- Why is the renewable energy industry, which employs over 800,000 across the US and employs 8 million people worldwide, not being expanded by the current administration? This could be a great industry to transfer unemployed coal miners to.
I could go on and on but my my point is that if we continue to focus on small issues and refuse to discuss the real issues that affect and touch our daily lives we relinquish control to politicians who may or may not have our best interests at heart.
Unless we start getting comfortable with having some REALLY difficult conversations and continue to leave the big decisions up to politicians, celebrities or just those who shout the loudest we are not going to make progress on any of the issues that so desperately need our attention.
Instead of complaining about issues to the same group of people who share your viewpoint let's think of ways to have mature conversations with people who do not share our view. I would love it if we could brainstorm some ideas to move forward on important issues instead of simply complaining about how screwed up everything is.
As a first step please think about contacting your local elected officials and asking them what they are doing about the issues that are important to you.
I am going to ask mine what they are doing about affordable housing and healthcare.
These people are paid to represent us and we let them off WAY too easily.
Click here to find the contact info for your local elected officials
Instead of complaining about issues to the same group of people who share your viewpoint let's think of ways to have mature conversations with people who do not share our view. I would love it if we could brainstorm some ideas to move forward on important issues instead of simply complaining about how screwed up everything is.
As a first step please think about contacting your local elected officials and asking them what they are doing about the issues that are important to you.
I am going to ask mine what they are doing about affordable housing and healthcare.
These people are paid to represent us and we let them off WAY too easily.
Click here to find the contact info for your local elected officials
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