As military people, we hold ourselves to a higher standard of performance than most civilians. Indeed, by law, we are bound to adhere to a far more rigid standard than the rest of you.
For instance, we voluntarily surrender many of our constitutionally guaranteed rights when we join ... the rights to freedom from search and seizure, freedom of speech, the right to a trial by a jury of your peers, the right to peaceably assemble to petition for a redress of grievances, all are held mostly in abeyance for those of us in the military.
But we tell ourselves it's so that you in civilian life can continue to enjoy your freedoms. And we mean it.
So let's take a minute and examine the current wave of "taking a knee" or hiding in locker rooms by players of the National Football League while our national anthem is played.
On one hand, it's their right. Rights are only good if they are observed, utilized and respected by all. As long as one is prepared to accept the consequences for their own actions, you can make any statement you want in our country.
On the other hand, let's take a look at what they're doing.
The National Anthem, if it is a political statement at all, is a statement of political solidarity between us all!. When you stand for the National Anthem, you are standing as a tribute and as a statement of intent to honor the miracle of the American Republic that we have all built over the past two-plus centuries.
When NFL millionaires protest that anthem, they are telling the rest of us something that we already know ... that our Union is an imperfect vessel. They are saying that, as good as our nation is, we nevertheless still have a ways to go to ensure freedom for all.
But NFL millionaires may not be the best messengers here.
First, there's the problem that many of them are convicted felons. People who have epitomized bad behavior, gotten caught, and were sent to prison ... before coming back onto the football field to work on making their next million dollars. Bad mediums for this particular message, I'm thinking.
Secondly, these players are little more than ENTERTAINERS ... not political policy advisers.
I put them in the same class of pompous loudmouths as actors and actresses, who feel empowered to advise we commoners on the right way to run a government. (George "There's Never Gonna Be a President Trump" Clooney, Ashley "I am a Nasty Woman" Judd, and Cher all come to mind at this point.)
Entertainers. That's all.
And we commoners get the final vote on entertainers. We can give them a resounding "Shut the Hell Up" by simply not watching them. (Look what happened to comedienne Kathy Griffin when she posted a photo of herself holding a Trump head. Her career since then is in tatters.)
If you don't like what these millionaire football players are saying with their Take-a-knee-or-hide-in-the-locker-room protest, turn the channel and watch something else. Hell, maybe talk to your family or even go outside for a walk or something.
They'll get the message.
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