I would like to preface this post with a few notes. First- as always, the views expressed in this post (and all posts) are mine alone, and do not necessarily represent my employer. Second- I have long maintained a personal mission to not interject my personal reactions to political issues because of my desire to help students see multiple perspectives on issues. Third- I have always stood for the flag and national anthem, and am proud to do so.
When this post began to form in my head, I thought back to something which President Obama said during a town hall. He was asked by the moderator, Jake Tapper, about his reaction to the initial kneeling of Colin Kaepernick, and he responded by talking about what the flag means to him, and how he feels that the flag and anthem can be a unifying force for all Americans. But then he also said this,
"I also always try to remind folks that part of what makes this country special is that we respect people's rights to have a different opinion...The test of our fidelity to our Constitution, to freedom of speech, to our Bill of Rights, is not when it's easy, but when it's hard. We fight sometimes so that people can do things that we disagree with ... As long as they're doing it within the law, then we can voice our opinion objecting to it but it's also their right."
It was the second line that really came back to me- "The test of our fidelity to our Constitution, to freedom of speech, to our Bill of Rights, is not when it's easy, but when it's hard." Listen- I don't believe in many universal truths, but those that I do, and which will always be a part of any classroom I work in, are that 1. Sexism, racism, and hatred will have no place in our classroom.2. Our students have rights, and when given the environment, can and should express those rights. Our students should know and feel that they have a voice, and that their voice has value.3. If students (or any American) wants to express their right to a voice, it should be informed. Ignorant speech is just as dangerous, and often times more so, than keeping quiet when your voice should be heard.If one thing has become very clear over the past few years, it is just how reactionary a people we can be. Too often we instantly react when we see something that makes us uncomfortable, when the reality is that there is almost always a moment to stop and think, almost always a need to have a conversation, almost always another perspective just as valuable as your own, and almost always a need to empathize.
Regarding this particular controversy, here are my thoughts:
I stand for the flag, but at the end of the day what I am really standing for is the ideal the flag represents. If we look at the flag in a literal sense, it is really just fabric. But, as a symbol, it stands for freedom, our Constitution, all that we have fought for over the course of 240 years. I stand for that because that is how I express my feelings about this history, I stand for that because I believe in what it represents- the rights we all possess as Americans. A hallmark of those rights is the right we have to express ourselves freely, provided we remain within the law. The First Amendment speaks of freedom of speech, and does not qualify that with provisions for anyone's comfort. Protest is central to our nation's history, so much so that it could be argued that protest is a fundamental American principle. And so, for those who want to express frustration about kneeling protests, you have the right to do so, and I would be the first to defend that right. If seeing this kind of protest makes you uncomfortable, I can understand that as well. But you do not have any greater right to express yourself than those who choose to kneel. We all have equal right to protest, and at a time when we have "protestors" marching through streets, waving Nazi flags, spewing hate speech, and driving their vehicles into groups of other protestors, a peaceful protest, even one that might cause us some discomfort, is far from our biggest problem.
This may seem like an "easy" issue for many to give voice, and if you have or wish to, that is your prerogative. But there are rarely issues that are easy; with the exception of a few absolute truths listed above, there is almost always a conversation to be had, almost always multiple perspectives. In this case, if we examine the root of the initial protests (taking issue with the treatment of blacks and other minorities in the United States), my reality is that I, like most, have no idea what it is to be a black person. I certainly have no idea what it is to be a black pro athlete. I would love to have their money, but I would never trade for their history. Most of us cannot fathom studying our people's history, and seeing so much of it dominated by slavery. Most of us cannot fathom watching the news and being concerned with the realities of race relations. How can we take issue with someone expressing their thoughts, exercising rights possessed by them, just because they are highly paid athletes? Their money doesn't take away their rights as a citizen, and for many of the black men and women, they carry the responsibility of being highly visible and looked up to, and as such it should come as no surprise that they might use their platform to initiate change, or at the least, a conversation.
And I would hope that the same verocity with which some have approached this issue would be applied to helping others in need, like Americans affected by natural disaster, including the thousands of Puerto Rican Americans without power.
