Colin Kaepernick & the American Unity

Defining Protest Down...
Defining Protest Down…

Over 32 years, I have never voted for a Democrat for president. Yet when the dust cleared from an election campaign, the two Democrats who have won in my adult lifetime, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, became my president.

That transition did not mean that I suddenly agreed with these men anymore than I did before the election. But it was a recognition that the most powerful exercise in American civic life – the vote –  had rendered a choice, and the continued legitimacy of the presidency itself depended on the respect of all Americans, even if a cohort among us opposed the policies of the individual entrusted with the stewardship of the nation.

Despite my deep and profound opposition to many of President Obama’s policies, he is still my president.

He is our president.

If I was in a room with President Obama, no one would have to prompt me to stand when he entered. If I met him in person, I would be reflexively cordial and respectful.

There is no dissonance here. Citizenship demands that we separate our view of politics from the institutions of governance.

I can have very deep and profound disagreements with the man and his policies, priorities and values, and still recognize that he holds an office that represents something much larger. While 65 million Americans voted for President Obama in 2012, he is president of all 319 million Americans. That unique role requires respect.

Which brings us to Colin Kaepernick.

Over the weekend the San Francisco 49ers QB created a controversy by refusing to stand for the national anthem before a pre-season game, explaining after:

“‘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 told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. ‘To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.'”

My reaction to Kaepernick’s remarks occur on many levels.

First, I don’t agree with the substance of Kaepernick’s characterization of race relations in America. We are not living in Apartheid South Africa. Indeed the last 50 years has been a period of unprecedented and wholly positive change in American race relations, not simply in the proper enforcement of constitutional rights, but in economic, political and cultural gains.

Oprah is a billionaire. There are tens of thousands of minority millionaires and entrepreneurs. In sports, movies, music and literature, African-Americans have been trail-blazers. African-Americans and “people of color” are in Congress and sit on the Supreme Court. Colin Powell served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And of course, Barack Obama is president of the United States – elected twice by a nation that is 63 percent white.

Kaepernick’s own story is worth noting in this regard.  A son of a destitute white mother and a black father, who left before his boy was born, and who was ultimately given up for adoption. From these humble beginnings, Kaepernick grew into adulthood demonstrating a first-rate intellect and colossal athletic prowess; turning down an opportunity to play Major League Baseball in order to pursue his dream of playing pro football.

Today, in the exclusive circle of players who make it to the NFL, Kaepernick is one of the 32  most elite players in the NFL, leading a storied franchise and pocketing a $114 million contract.

That, is not the path of a bi-racial child in an “oppressor” country. Indeed, Kaepernick has lived the “American Dream,” where no matter your origin, if you have the skill and dedication, you can do anything.

To acknowledge this reality is not to ignore race issues in America, and the very real challenges that we grapple with today, but rather to put them in context.

But of course, that’s my view, and Kaepernick does not share it.

And to that point, if he wants to use his free speech rights to sit out the national anthem, so be it. It is no different than Tim Tebow, who very publicly prayed on bended knee before games.

But here’s the rub.

Just because Kaepernick can use this action as a form of protest, does not mean that he should.

First, Kaepernick is not on his own time when he refuses to stand – he’s on the clock of the 49ers and the NFL, and that conduct is therefore not personal but official, for him, the 49ers and the NFL, writ large.

In refusing to stand for the national anthem, Kaepernick has (unwittingly) become part of movement that defines acceptable dissent by delegitimizing respect for national traditions. Privately, this is little more than free speech, but when employed in the forum that Kaepernick is using, he is contributing to the erosion of confidence in our public institutions. No finger-pointing here. This is a sadly bipartisan affair, with all sides contributing a tenuously balkanized middle, which Kaepernick only the latest to join.

And it is not as if there isn’t a better way.

Kaepernick could attend #BLM rallies – indeed speak at them if he wishes.  He could contribute some of his vast wealth to the Innocence Project, or to non-profits fighting for criminal justice reform. He could use his fame and standing as a role model for disadvantaged youth. Indeed, in comparison to this type of concrete action, Kaepernick’s symbolic “sit-out” seems feeble, attention-seeking and uninspired, given what someone in his position is capable of as a real change agent.

The preamble to the Constitution established the goal of creating “a more perfect union:” Not perfect, but always perfecting. Where an African-American president today lives in the house built by African-American slaves. It is this larger, historical notion of our nation, “Out of many, one,” which the national anthem appeals. A vision of idealism, aspirations, principles, courage, tenacity and redemption that informs the American idea for all citizens, as diverse as the country itself.

This ensures that their is more than enough room for everyone to stand with pride when it is played.