I have never understood why all sporting events, at least in the United States, must be preceded by the playing of the national anthem. I have never understood the connection between a sporting contest on the field or court and a national song. Clearly, there is no law that I am aware of that requires sporting events be preceded by the national anthem. It is a tradition, as far as I can tell, nothing more, but one apparently many people believe, certainly the current occupant of the White House, judging by the recent hullabaloo over NFL players not standing during the playing of the anthem, that is some sort of litmus test of one’s patriotism.

I personally have no objection if someone chooses to sit during the playing of the anthem. That’s his or her choice and right. Where is it written that somehow not standing for the anthem is disrespectful and unpatriotic? To what and to whom? To those who have fought for their country? Do they really need the acts of others to affirm their own acts and deeds? And if someone doesn’t stand, does that really diminish what those who have fought for their country have done?

If in fact those who have fought for their country in the military fought for what this country stands for, among which, and perhaps foremost is the right of people to believe and say what they want without fear of reprisal from the government or anyone, I would think witnessing people protesting during the anthem would be testament that their efforts for the country had not been in vain, and that they actually should feel pride that people could exercise the rights they fought to preserve. They may not like what someone has to say, but they should be able to appreciate one’s right to say it, no matter how odious it may be to them. That is what make the United States great, and if we lose that, then we become just like any other country.

The truth is the act of patriotism is not simply standing before a symbol, a flag, and reciting a song. To equate something so superficial as that with patriotism is like saying the act of a Christian genuflecting in front of a cross is somehow spiritual. It is not. Being spiritual like being patriotic involves a purposeful deed, not simply adoration of a symbol. If someone genuflects before a cross and then goes out and swindles his fellow man, is he in fact spiritual, devoted to the precepts of his faith, assuming the precepts don’t include the swindling of his fellow man? Similarly, if someone stands before a flag and sings the national anthem, does that reflect the patriotism in his heart?

I dare say that it is quite possible the 9/11 terrorists and others that have followed since, when attending a sporting event in this country, if they ever did, may have followed the crowd and stood during the playing of the anthem. Does that make them patriotic? Or does their act of terrorism really show what actually was in their hearts?

Does the fact that Colin Kaepernick and of late many NFL players not standing for the anthem make them unpatriotic? Yet, many if not most of these players including Mr. Kaepernick devote many millions of their own money and much of their time to charitable causes here in the United States and elsewhere. Witness the more than $30 million raised by J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans for Hurricane Harvey relief. Is that not devotion to one’s country by trying to help others? I would argue that it is. 

Clearly, someone who sacrifices his life in the service of his country is patriotic, but service of one’s country can come in many forms. It doesn’t have to be just on the field of battle or in the halls of government. I would argue that anyone who acts to help his fellow citizens can be called patriotic.

For example, was Edward Snowden’s act of releasing information about the U.S. government’s illegal spying on U.S. citizens an act of patriotism or an act of treason as the government would have us believe? By releasing the information he was alerting the population to illegal acts by our own government of which we were unaware. In so doing, he has sacrificed his life for all of us. He cannot come back to this country without fear of being tried and imprisoned as a traitor. It was a selfless act on his part that to my mind constitutes devotion to his country. He could have kept silent and continued to be a part of the illegal spying apparatus, but because in good conscience he could not, he chose to bring to light in hopes of stopping what the government was doing and had tried to keep hidden from the public.

There have been many other such selfless acts in our country’s history, in which people have given of their time and money and lives to causes of justice in this country, to ensure that the founding principles of the country apply to all and not to just a few. Harriet Tubman helped slaves escape their bondage. Susan B. Anthony fought for the cause of women’s suffrage. Martin Luther King fought for the civil rights of African-Americans, and now, Colin Kaepernick and his fellow NFL players carry on that same struggle of Dr. King’s. Mr. Kaepernick has lost his employment as a result of it. And what was his egregious act? He simply refused to stand for the national anthem as a protest and as a means to highlight the continued discrimination he and others of his race have and do suffer from in this country.

What if he were to have joined the thousands of demonstrators in Jefferson, Missouri, following the police shootings there? Would he have lost his job? Probably not. But because he chose the very visible forum of the playing of the national anthem at an NFL game, watched by millions of people, he has been blackballed by the league.

For many, our twitter-in-chief included, their focus has been not on why he did it, and what he meant to say in doing it, rather, they have considered it as somehow disrespectful, an unforgiveable, unpatriotic act. But all he was doing was expressing his First Amendment right to free speech. What could be more American than to express his right, one I might add we all do every day and which we all hold most dear, and for which our members in uniform fight for?

Could Mr. Kaepernick have exercised his right of free speech differently that would not have engendered such vitriol? Perhaps, but then, would he have brought as much attention to his cause if he had? Probably not. He chose the forum he knew would get the most attention.

Does not our President do the same when he stands before the United Nations and vows to destroy a member of that august body, or at a campaign rally calls all Mexicans in this country criminals and rapists, or in a twitter tweet calls all NFL players who fail to stand for the national anthem sons-of-bitches?

They both are exercising their freedom of speech, the question we have to ask ourselves is which is the more patriotic? Which is the more devotional to the founding principles of the country? 

Patriotism comes in many forms, not just on the field of battle, but the important thing to recognize is the true act of patriotism and the true patriot for as Samuel Johnson observed, “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”