Drop the Anthem?

First, let me apologize for not writing in a while - I just returned from a trip to Ireland visiting our son Chris.  Wonderful place other than the rain, the driving and the difficult take-off due to Hurricane Ophelia.

Now, there have been so many things going on in the world in the two weeks I’ve been gone that they are hard to all sort through.  Equifax and my stolen data....the “Me too” movement among women who have faced sexual harassment or abuse.... the ongoing nightmare of Puerto Rico’s Maria survivors.... the fires in California .... the white supremacists and their ongoing march toward a white America .... the president and his almost daily tweets that cause us to ask, “Did he really say that?” .... North Korea ... Obamacare as it becomes Trumpcare ....and on, and on, and on..................

Where do I begin?  

Oh yeah - the National Anthem!

We still have all this outrage because some NFL players take a knee during the national anthem.  Apparently, kneeling during the anthem violates some unwritten national law that says we have to stand with our hand over our heart and tears in our eyes at the glory of the anthem right before we root for our favorite team to tear the heads off of those other guys from that other, worthless, team.

The issue is complicated because those who are outraged have reframed the protest into something that it never was.  Those who don’t like the protests say that they are disrespecting the soldiers who fought for our freedom - even when kneeling was the suggestion of a former Green Beret.  

Playing the anthem was never to honor the troops.  That’s not its function.  It is not to honor the flag.  The flag is an inanimate object which is only good as a symbol - and then only as good as the values it represents.

But as the players have repeatedly said, the kneeling is not a protest against the soldiers or the flag or even the anthem itself.  Rather, it is an open acknowledgment that the promises of that flag and anthem have not been fulfilled for or even extended to millions of Americans because of their ethnic identity.  It is a protest of the values of America not being valued by far too many police, politicians, and others in power.

The howls of protest - by people who never complain about the hotdog vendors continuing to sell their wares during the anthem (as one small example) - are not about the flag.  They are about black people who are sick and tired of being treated as second-class citizens.

In response, white people, including the president, have threatened them, called them names, spit upon them, boycotted them - you name it.  Pretty classy, huh?  They say these players have politicized what is supposed to be an enjoyable escape from all the contention of the world.

That’s a lie.

They did not politicize the game.  It was already politicized.  

The moment team owners began playing the national anthem at the game, it became politicized.  Sports and the national anthem have nothing to do with each other - no more than going to the grocery store, and I’ll be hanged if I’m going to stand for the national anthem every time I go to Stop & Shop.

The history of the national anthem being played apparently goes back to World War I and the 1918 World Series.  I’ve read varying accounts, but it seems to boil down to propaganda.  The US was a very tense place during World War I, and sedition laws were being enforced with extreme prejudice.  Neighbors were encouraged to rat out neighbors who were not being patriotic enough (forget about being disloyal, you could get in trouble for not displaying enough enthusiasm for the government).  It was a dark time.

That’s when it became a thing to play the anthem.  It fell somewhat into disuse until World War II.  After that, if you wanted to watch a ball game, you had to stand for the anthem.  This was about the same time, by the way, when “under God” was added to the Pledge.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I have nothing against the National Anthem other than the music which I don’t care for.  Oh, and its third stanza which could be taken to approve of the death of slaves (probably those who fought for the British on the promise of freedom).  

But the anthem is really a creature of the state and is most appropriate for state functions.  Or the Olympics, where you’re representing your country.

This whole idea of playing it at games is somewhat of a puzzlement to people from other countries.  German soccer players recently decided to take a knee before their games in support of their American brothers as well as support for just treatment of all people in Germany (they have their own issues these days).  They couldn’t kneel during their anthem, however, because it wasn’t played.

So, without wanting to take attention away from the very real issues of police brutality and other forms of discrimination that have been so much a part of American life, I suggest that the best way to deal with the national anthem and sports is to quit playing it.  Period.  

Just stop. 

The two do not belong together.