Who knew football would be the lynchpin for a national discussion of the Bill of Rights!?
President Donald Trump's tirade about NFL players' peaceful protests was surreal. In the midst of a nuclear tit for tat with North Korea, three devastating hurricanes affecting thousands of citizens, and important policy debates on the future of health care in this country, the president chose to alienate, divide, and insult NFL players, their families, and fans for exercising the very freedoms the flag and national anthem represent. Seriously? Exercising your 1st Amendment rights confirms your commitment to yourself, your community, and your country.
I don't claim to be a big fan of professional football, but I am a fan of the Constitution. While many of my friends were predicting an apocalypse last November, I calmly reminded people that the framers of the Constitution created a pretty amazing document. They were suspect of government power and created a process to protect us from abuse. Protected free speech and the right to petition your government for a redress of grievances were just parts of that process. My trust in that process hasn't changed.
However, the absurdities of this latest rant must be articulated. First, it is not patriotism to stand and salute your country out of fear or threats to your career; that is called tyranny. Second, to demand deference to a symbol while profanely referring to the mothers of NFL players defies rational thought and common decency. Finally, to suggest these players don't love their country or respect their flag after espousing a let's-get-all-the-facts tolerance of those who wear hoods, swastikas, and display a well-documented symbol of treason against this country is unenlightened, uninformed, and, frankly, un-American.
To paraphrase a recent White House observation, "Who knew football could be so complicated?"
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Kelly Ritter-Spohn
Duluth
