A little over a year ago we had the same debate: Should NFL players stand or kneel during the national anthem. A little over a year ago I blogged about this. It seems like we're just on repeat now, or that America is simply a skipping record.
Honestly, I don't have much of anything new to say from last year, but as we enter Round 2 of the NFL-National Anthem debate I have thought more about the symbol of the American flag. It seems that Americans have widely different perspectives on what the flag represents, and this lies at the core of our disagreements.
For most white Americans, we tend to see the American flag in terms of our country's ideals. For most white Americans, the flag represents the best of America. It represents freedom, sacrifice, justice for all, equality, and heroism. We speak in terms of the flag representing what we fight for. In light of this, it's only natural for white Americans to get offended when other Americans use the flag as a site of protest. For many of us, we realize our country is not perfect, but for white Americans the flag tends to represent what we hope to strive toward.
However, for many other Americans (and for others around the world), the flag has additional meanings as well. While the flag still does represent the ideals of America, for many minorities in this country, the flag also represents the institutions and governments that have often oppressed and discriminated against them. There is a realization among non-white Americans that the flag is not merely a symbol of our ideals, but also represents real people, real government, and real institutions.
For a Native American who ancestors were slaughtered by soldiers carrying this flag, the American flag can't help but be a reminder of genocide.
For an African American whose grandmother was denied the right to vote at a courthouse flying this flag, or whose father fought in a World War under this flag only to have the same nation's Housing Department deny him access to a home loan or GI benefits, this flag can't help but be a reminder of discrimination.
When an unarmed man with no violent history is shot dead in his car in front of a child by an officer with an American flag on his police car, the flag loses some of its luster.
And while many around the world do view the American flag as a symbol of hope, freedom, and leadership, there are also many around the world who have been harmed by our international policies and foreign wars and who see the flag as a symbol of American imperialism and meddling.
For people who have experienced oppression underneath the American flag, the flag does not just represent American values and ideals, but also "the republic for which it stands"--a republic they know too well to be harmful to their lives in its current and historic states.
In addition to these differences in perspective, the two go-rounds with the NFL have highlighted another difference. White Americans seem especially quick to connect the American flag to America's military, even when soldiers or military action are not even part of the discussion. For instance, none of the NFL players choosing to kneel during the national anthem have made any statements against war or America's troops. Rather, they hope to point out that the America the flag currently flies over is not the America we want it to be when it comes to race relations.
However, for many Americans (again, mostly white), any perceived slight against the flag it viewed as an attach on America's military and soldiers. The flag ceases to represent anything else and becomes a physical embodiment of our veterans' bravery and sacrifice.
This is very different from the perspective of those protesting. For those protesting, the flag can represent so much more than simply America's warriors. It can represent America's hopes and dreams, but also represents a government and a nation that currently do exist in reality, and that reality is far from perfect.
In summary, what we have is a clash of worldviews surrounding how to interpret the flag. For most (white) Americans, the flag represents America's ideals and war heroes. As such, it ought not be connected with our failings (which most white Americans prefer not to think about or like to pretend is only in the past anyways). Therefore, the flag deserves the utmost respect, even when our country does fail. Failing to show complete reverence for the flag is identical to disrespecting the values and ideals the flag represents (as well as the soldiers who fought for those values).
However, for other Americans, the flag cannot be disconnected from real places, real institutions, and real times. For them, the flag is not merely a symbol, but is an actual piece of fabric that waves over post offices, capitol buildings, armies, and yes, even over unjust actions. It's not that they hate America in its ideal form; they simply hate how America fails to measure up to the ideal. In this view, the flag is not infallible and is open to challenge the actual nation is flies over achieves the ideals so many have fought for. As Kaepernick stated last year, he will protest until "[the American flag] represents what it's supposed to represent."
However, until both sides can find a common ground on how to understand the symbolism of the American flag, we are cursed to continue talking past each other and repeating this conversation every football season.
