Mr. Kaepernick’s actions, and the movement he started have received comments and attention across the country.  

Before I never talk about him again, I want to highlight a few points about his position and some of the divisiveness in our nation as a whole. 

First of all, I spent over 28 years in uniform to defend each American’s right to be great AND to be ignorant. After all, it is tougher to identify true greatness if we never see mediocrity and ignorance. But that does not make ignorance and mediocrity desirable. I would defend with my last breath Colin Kaepernick’s right to act and speak as he does. That does not mean, however, that I would defend his speech, defend his actions, or laud them as a great use of freedom. 

Second, Mr. Kaepernick’s use of broad generalities in criticizing our country, criticizing the police, and the actions of an an entire group of people does not solve any problem. 99% of all police officers are honest, hard-working public servants who put their lives on the line daily and got into that business because of a desire to serve. The mistakes, and in some cases, the willfully bad acts of a few officers do not condemn the actions of all, and in using these generalities, Mr. Kaepernick drove a greater wedge and inhibited the fixing of any problems because of his prejudicial views towards an entire group of individuals, using facts loosely to make a point. Just as a person who sees a young black man and automatically assumes he is a thug is wrong, or someone who assumes a southerner is stupid and illiterate is ignorant of the truth, generalities like his only worsen the environment and create more hard feelings than before.

Third, the flag and the anthem. I know the history of the song, including the unsavory parts. But I also know of literally millions who have either put their life on the line or given their life in order to preserve the freedoms that the flag and that anthem represents. We, an imperfect nation with imperfect citizens, are together to form a ‘more perfect union’. Read the rest of the preamble, and there is not chest-thumping about our greatness, but a commitment to be better, to provide a society of opportunity for all. The flag and the anthem do not represent slavery, or racism, hegemony, or a pure society, but they do represent the ideals found in those original documents of a commitment to a better society. They represent the 200+ years of bumps, bruises, sacrifice and growth as we have tried to provide for the justice and tranquility we all seek, the opportunity we all seek, and that seemingly unreachable perfect society. Our country is not perfect, but the ideals of inalienable rights, of justice for all, of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are perfect ideals that, under that flag and with that anthem, we should all aspire to. The fact that we are not there yet is to state the obvious. Ignoring the ideals is like bad-mouthing the sun because on a cold day it does not provide us with enough warmth. 

Lastly, I wish that Mr. Kaepernick would exercise true leadership and find solutions to specific problems, to pitch in in meaningful ways to make America better. If his little league football coach had benched him the minute he made a bad play and never played him again until he could have that perfect game, we would not even know his name right now. He is an American, which means, like the rest of us, he owns a part of the responsibility to lead us to a better place, to fix our problems with race, prejudgment, and a lack of understanding. As a celebrity, he has a unique position in society where he can positively influence so many people. His actions make me honestly wonder how he was ever a quarterback, the central on-field leader of a football team. Team leaders don’t take off the jersey when someone misses a block, change to the other team, or walk off the field. Team leaders grasp the challenge, rally the team, and look the opposition in the eye and leave everything on the field to win. By kneeling down, dishonoring all those who honorably serve, and dismissing the words of the Founding Fathers, Mr. Kaepernick does not fix anything. I hope he finally stands up and gets back on the field.