Taking a Knee

            A little over thirty years ago, I took an oath to solemnize my enlistment in the U.S. Army. The hustle and chaos of the day obscured the import of that moment. Like most young men, I missed a chance to give serious thought to what I was doing. As the years passed and my service stacked up, the impact of those words sank in. I’ve reproduced them here for your perusal.

I Matthew E. Robinson do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

            Unlike many militaries of the world where service-members take an oath to a leader or to protect geographic territory, our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines swear to protect the ideals expressed in the constitution. And that is how it should be as the true strength of our nation flows not from our might in arms, but from ideals and ideas that elevate all of us and when we depart from those ideals it erodes our strength and worth as a nation. And this especially applies to recent demonstrations by athletes who choose not to stand during the playing of the national anthem and those who take umbrage at such displays.

            When we seek to deny them their freedom of speech; we ignore one of the most basic tenants of our nation and we insult all those that have sacrificed for the advancement and survival of it. We may disagree with their statement, but we need to be strong enough to let them make it and wise enough to consider their point. You see, those of us who enjoy being white and well-to-do inhabit a very different world from those of color. We live and move throughout our days enjoying a certain privilege and place. Yes, most of us must work to secure our place and we to suffer the vagaries of human existence; however, the table is undeniably tilted in our direction and to deny such insults those that suffer from it and displays our ignorance to the realities of American life.

              Our nation was born out of similar protests; which when ignored by those in power turned into violent revolution. We need to carefully consider these protests, seeking to understand the forces that generate such frustration. In their own way, the athletes that take a knee during the National Anthem are engaging in an act that is patriotic to its core, just as patriotic as my enlisting in the Army.  Our intransigence regarding these demonstrations will only serve to further alienate those marginalized segments of our population that badly need our help and assistance. Instead of railing at the demonstration let us instead seek to understand the forces that are the genesis of such frustration and seek out common ground and solutions. The demonstrations are not acts of disrespect. They seek change to better our society and as such, are acts of patriotism. Those who willingly shoulder the slings, arrows, and criticism taking a knee during the National Anthem deserve our respect and a fair hearing.