The absurdity reached a new high on Sunday, when players for the
Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens at an exhibition game in
London refused to stand for the National Anthem, but stood for the British anthem,
“God Save the Queen.” It’s ironic because the National Anthem was
written to commemorate the bravery that the outnumbered and outgunned
American soldiers showed when they nevertheless defeated the British at the Battle of Fort McHenry in 1814. During the night of September 12-13, British ships fired between 1,500 and 1,800 rounds
at the fort, most of the time remaining outside of the reach of the
Americans’ weaker cannons. Fort McHenry should have been reduced to
rubble. But miraculously, the American fort survived the bombardment,
and at dawn, the American flag was still flying.
What would those American soldiers who lost their lives to British cannons think about the American players today who stand in respect for the British national anthem, but refuse to stand for the American song that commemorates their valor? Of course, I doubt that this irony even occurred to any of the football players, as they virtue-signaled for the cameras. One wonders if any of them even know the history of the Battle of Fort McHenry.
Aside from that, there’s an additional problem with the football players’ protest: it doesn’t make sense. The players are protesting the police shootings that involved African-American victims. But the National Anthem stands for three things: (1) the bravery of the American soldiers at Fort McHenry; (2) giving thanks to God for the miraculous victory (the fourth verse makes that clear); and (3) America itself. Presumably, they are using the National Anthem as a symbol representing the third – our country itself.
But how can these NFL players disrespect the very country that gives them the opportunity to earn seven- or eight-figure salaries just for playing a game that they enjoy? There’s no other place on earth that they can become rich role models just by playing American football. And there’s no other place on earth that so thoroughly investigates and holds accountable its police officers in those cases where an officer actually does something wrong – which is a problem that we all want solved.
They should be celebrating the American Constitution and the American system, not disrespecting it. If they want to protest incidents of police shootings, they should wear symbolic armbands naming the victims or put stickers on their warm-up gear on the sidelines. That would be more specific and it wouldn’t disrespect our country.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/09/25/kobach-why-taking-a-knee-during-the-national-anthem-is-not-only-unpatriotic-its-ignorant/amp/
What would those American soldiers who lost their lives to British cannons think about the American players today who stand in respect for the British national anthem, but refuse to stand for the American song that commemorates their valor? Of course, I doubt that this irony even occurred to any of the football players, as they virtue-signaled for the cameras. One wonders if any of them even know the history of the Battle of Fort McHenry.
Aside from that, there’s an additional problem with the football players’ protest: it doesn’t make sense. The players are protesting the police shootings that involved African-American victims. But the National Anthem stands for three things: (1) the bravery of the American soldiers at Fort McHenry; (2) giving thanks to God for the miraculous victory (the fourth verse makes that clear); and (3) America itself. Presumably, they are using the National Anthem as a symbol representing the third – our country itself.
But how can these NFL players disrespect the very country that gives them the opportunity to earn seven- or eight-figure salaries just for playing a game that they enjoy? There’s no other place on earth that they can become rich role models just by playing American football. And there’s no other place on earth that so thoroughly investigates and holds accountable its police officers in those cases where an officer actually does something wrong – which is a problem that we all want solved.
They should be celebrating the American Constitution and the American system, not disrespecting it. If they want to protest incidents of police shootings, they should wear symbolic armbands naming the victims or put stickers on their warm-up gear on the sidelines. That would be more specific and it wouldn’t disrespect our country.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/09/25/kobach-why-taking-a-knee-during-the-national-anthem-is-not-only-unpatriotic-its-ignorant/amp/
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