Lately I’ve been increasingly alarmed by “patriotism” or at
least what is passing as patriotism. Instead of a unifying love of and
commitment to country, today’s patriotism seems terrifyingly zealous,
unquestioning, and shallow.
In mainstream media, on social media, and as part of
everyday interactions, people are exhibiting appallingly aggressive and
divisive behavior in the name of patriotism. Over-the-top name calling,
ridiculous personal insults, and even death threats are the responses to acts
as simple as not standing for the National Anthem or supporting someone who
makes that choice.
As pretty much the entire world knows at this point, San
Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick chose to remain seated during the
National Anthem at a pre-season game. "I am not going to stand up to show
pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of
color," Kaepernick said, via NFL.com.
Here’s the deal: I don’t care about football. In fact, there
isn’t much I care less about than football. Admitting indifference toward
football in Seattle these days is akin to blasphemy. With Seahawks fever
raging, I’ve gotten used to the sideways glances I get on “Blue Friday” when
I’m conspicuously not wearing any Seahawks gear – no blue and green hair
ribbons, no face decals, no tiny little “12s” painted on my fingernails. I do
own one Seahawks t-shirt that I break out of deep storage for special occasions
(i.e. when my ten year old son insists.) Despite my long-standing disinterest
in the sport, I will confess that having my hometown team win the Super Bowl was
pretty fun. It was enjoyable to watch the games with my son and to see the
community participate in all the hoopla.
Thanks to the Seahawks, I have a very cursory understanding
of what the football fuss is all about. But now there is a whole new category
of fuss over football; my Facebook feed has switched from general excitement
about the season beginning and trash-talking between fans of rival teams to a
political uproar over players refusing to stand for the National Anthem.
Kaepernick chose to remain seated to bring attention to a
cause he cares about, and, since then, a number of other NFL players have
either joined him in sitting/kneeling, or engaged in other shows of solidarity
like linking arms or raising fists. (Kaepernick apparently switched from
sitting to kneeling in an effort to communicate his message while still showing
respect for the military, police, and country.) Still, many people perceive Kaepernick’s
actions as unpatriotic (“perceive” being the key word.) These people have
gotten very angry. My own social media-sphere has examples of threatening and
hateful comments directed toward these NFL players and anyone who dares to
agree with them.
This conversation (and conversation is a stretch given that
it’s more like a screaming match) is missing an important distinction between
‘method’ and ‘meaning.’ I don’t necessarily agree (or for that matter, disagree)
with Colin Kaepernick’s method of
making the statement he’s making. I do believe that the issue he’s highlighting
is meaningful to our society and
requires civil attention and dialogue. What’s more, I definitely agree that he
has the right to express himself and to try to affect change. And I don’t think
doing so makes him unpatriotic.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines patriotism as “love
for or devotion to one's country.” It doesn’t say anything about standing for
the National Anthem – that’s a symbol
of devotion to country. Symbols are important ways for us to understand and
express abstract ideas and concepts, but it becomes problematic when the symbol
takes precedence over what it represents. Couldn’t choosing to kneel during the
National Anthem as a method of calling attention to an important national issue
be interpreted as love for and devotion to one’s country? I don’t know whether it’s
the “right” method and it certainly can’t be the only method, but ultimately
these football players are trying to create positive change for our country.
It’s a complicated issue to be sure, one that deserves
respectful acknowledgement and conversation, not racial slurs and threats. Now,
I’m sure some would argue that the NFL players don’t really care about anything
more than calling attention to themselves for personal gain and satisfaction.
Believe me, I’m the first to roll my eyes at the over-inflated egos and
paychecks of professional athletes. I’m just using this example to talk about
the bigger issue of American patriotism being alarmingly warped and out of
control.
Sometime during junior high, I won an essay contest that was
sponsored by a local service organization. My memory of the ‘when’ and ‘who’
details is a bit fuzzy, but I remember the ‘what’ clearly. We were to explore
and take a stand on whether or not burning the American flag should be a crime.
My pre-teen brain, confused though it undoubtedly was, immediately recognized
this question as a complicated and sticky one.
It is important to note that my K-12 schools, while beloved
in my memories, were not bastions of educational rigor. There were some
stand-out moments, as well as teachers I appreciate to this day, but I had more
than one high school class that consisted almost entirely of completing
word-finds and crossword puzzles. The teacher of another class literally read
the answers the day before the test; all you had to do was memorize “1. A, 2.
C, 3. E…” etc. It was essentially possible to ace the class without having any
knowledge of the subject matter. My best friend and I resorted to creating a
race on test day – our aim was to see who could fill in the pre-memorized
multiple choice answers fastest and leap to the front of the room to be the
first to turn in the test.
My point is that maybe I have such a vivid memory of the
essay contest because it was one of the few serious papers I was ever required
to write in my pre-college education. But even more than that, I remember being
struck by the instructions… They not only offered an invitation, but a
directive, to think for myself – to think carefully about a weighty topic. So I
did. I thought and wrote, and thought and wrote, and thought and wrote. I
struggled through quite a few days and drafts figuring out what I really
believed and wanted to say.
I still have the essay in a box that has been packed away; I
wish I had access to it now so I could include some actual quotes, but I
remember the gist. I basically said the same thing I’m saying here, 30 years
later… That despite not liking the idea or sight of people burning the American
flag, I don’t think it should be a crime or grounds for threatening retaliatory
behavior.
At first I considered the flag “just a piece of fabric,” but
as I kept thinking and writing, I realized that wasn’t quite true. The American
flag is more than a piece of fabric; it’s a symbol, just like the National
Anthem is more than just a song. These symbols are important pieces of our
collective culture. Over generations we’ve imbued them with layers of meaning
that help us understand and represent ourselves.
My essay suggested that the flag burning issue was a classic
case of symbol vs. what the symbol stands for. The symbol stands for liberty
and freedom. It stands for a country that is great because it allows us to both
revere and burn our flag. I argued, in my young way, that true patriotism
wasn’t simply waving a flag, but standing up for the principals the flag
represents. I thought that if someone was angry enough or dissatisfied enough
to burn a symbol of our country and freedom, they must have something
meaningful to say and that we should listen.
I submitted my essay somewhat cautiously, knowing that my
thoughts might not be popular with everyone. I figured what the judges probably
wanted to hear was how terrible it is to burn the flag and that it should
definitely be considered a crime. I didn’t think there was even a remote
possibility that I would win, but I did.
I attended an awards ceremony where I received a certificate
and a little sparkly American flag lapel pin. I kept the pin in my jewelry box
over the years. I never wore it, but it made me smile. Every time I saw it, I remembered
how hard I worked on the essay and that the best award was what I learned
through my own thought process.
Unfortunately, many years later, I finally had an occasion
to wear my flag pin. It was with deep sadness, fear, and yes, patriotism, that
I removed it from its place in my jewelry box and affixed it to my jacket after
September 11, 2001. I wore it for weeks, maybe even months, before tucking it
safely back into my jewelry box. I love the pin. Not because it’s particularly
pretty or valuable, but because it’s an important symbol to me on both
patriotic and personal levels.
Patriotism isn’t about shouting “God bless America” the
loudest or waving a flag the hardest – those things are easy to do. True patriotism
is hard; it not only invites us, but requires
us to think critically, and to truly honor our symbols by seeing beyond them to
the values and principles they represent and to behave accordingly, even if
that means the symbols themselves get a little banged up in the process.
They’ll always be there, waiting to do their symbolic work, just like the
little flag pin in my jewelry box. But if we forget or ignore our
responsibility to the underlying values and principles, there won’t be any reason
left for their existence.
