By Bob Beanblossom
25 September 2017
It seems to me that I’m missing something. Again.
I am not a sports fan. I don’t watch sports on TV or follow any teams or players.
That said, it is hard to miss the current hoo-rah over players who fail to show any national pride by not standing for the National Anthem. These, as I understand it, are those guys making millions of dollars for themselves, their teams, and their leagues while playing in taxpayer-subsidized stadiums.
I got the part that they are protesting. After all, I went through the 60s.
The part I am missing is, as usual, responsible, thorough, factual reporting that presents a balanced picture of events. I know. I’m expecting too much of modern “journalism.”
But, what I’m missing is this–and it may well have been reported. How many fans in the stands did not stand for the Anthem? Is this a protest by the populace, or just the elite who are somehow not getting everything they want when they want it the way they want it. You know, the millionaires who spend themselves into bankruptcy before they even retire.
I understand that these players are a minority. Most of us of any color, religion, age, gender, educational level, or whatever, will never have the opportunity to garner the fame (or notoriety) or income that they have achieved. I do wonder if the ability to beat someone else to a pulp legally is a meaningful criterion for listening to their political and social agendas. Their opinion on shoes, maybe. But their considered opinion of the American system that has just had an eight-year black president, black CEOs and other top execs of major corporations, college presidents and tenured faculty, not to mention all sorts of sports idols–well, it seems to be a bit faulty.
Back to the question: How many regular Joes and Janes in the stands refused to honor our National Anthem and the thousands of men and women over far more than 200 years who were sacrificed so they could freely protest and succeed in their chosen field.
This is not to say, of course, that our nation does not need to take to our knees. We desperately need to get on our knees before God and seek His will and leadership in our individual lives and for our nation. These folks, however, don’t seem to be in quite that mode. That just suggests that we need to learn from them and not follow in their ways, but lead our families, communities, and nation in following our God.