Jim Wright is an Iraqi war veteran. He has a blog called StoneKettle Station. He’s also active on his Facebook account where he posted a long piece about the Colin Kaepernick statements concerning his refusal to stand during the playing of the National Anthem at football games. Wright explained that he had taken a day away from the internet and when he came back his inbox was filled with people asking him what his feelings were, being a veteran. So, as a veteran, he decided to answer.
The very first thing I learned in the military is this: Respect is a two-way street. If you want respect, true respect, sincere respect, then you have to GIVE IT.
Wright explains that the concept of respect is an earned commodity. If you want someone to have it, they need to feel it themselves and give it willingly. He explains that forcing and trying to threaten Kaepernick into “respecting” the flag is an illusion and an unsatisfactory one at that. He very articulately explains to those who clearly do not understand, that the United States is a construct, not an individual with hurt feelings. Finally, he drops the mic.
To you the National Anthem means one thing, to Kaepernick it means something else. We are all shaped and defined by our experiences and we see the world through our own eyes. That's freedom. That's liberty. The right to believe differently. The right to protest as you will. The right to demand better. The right to believe your country can BE better, that it can live up to its sacred ideals, and the right to loudly note that it has NOT. The right to use your voice, your actions, to bring attention to the things you believe in. The right to want more for others, freedom, liberty, justice, equality, and RESPECT.
A true veteran might not agree with Colin Kaepernick, but a true veteran would fight to the death to protect his right to say what he believes.
You don't like what Kaepernick has to say? Then prove him wrong, BE the nation he can respect.
It's really just that simple.
It really is just that simple.