Waving flag doesn’t make a patriot, but kneeling might

The Columbus Dispatch ran an op-ed by Tricia Mclaughlin early last month in which she highlighted some well-worn conservative tropes about how some people are destroying America by their un-patriotic actions and views.

Her description of patriotism may be good red meat for conservatives, but does not provide sustenance for most other Americans. Patriotism is wider than the bounds of right wing tropes.

As Mclaughlin did, I will start with a favorite conservative whipping boy, Colin Kaepernick.

Does Colin Kaepernick hate America? Many say he does.

His crime?

He knelt during the National Anthem to raise awareness of the disproportionate killing of Black men by police. He did not speak out at a funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. His protest was at a football game. A football game with scantily clad cheerleaders, drunken fans, nachos and cheese, and the usual rah, rah, rah.

But for many, the moment the Anthem starts it turns a sports stadium into hallowed ground.

So Kaepernick became the devil incarnate. No matter that what he was speaking out about was real and true, and that taking a knee is about as respectful a protest as one can muster. In the Fox News world, Colin Kaepernick was a rich, entitled Black man who defiled all that is good in America that day.

Since then, George Floyd and so many other Black men have been killed by police. That beat has gone on and on. Kaepernick had it right. But he was blackballed out of the NFL.

Is there room in America for patriotic Americans to stand with hands over heart when the Anthem plays and for Colin Kaepernick to take a knee?

Can a man who lost his career for expressing his opinion be seen as patriotic?

Martin Luther King was once looked upon by millions of white people as anti-american and now, long after his assassination, he is revered and even quoted by far right conservatives. So maybe Kaepernick will be viewed as patriotic one day. But not before he has been further dragged through the mud.

Is flag waving always patriotism? Mclaughlin criticized a New York Times board member for being offended by pro-trump demonstrators waving flags in June, 2021. Some of the demonstrators were also sporting signs using profanity against President Joe Biden.

Is a flag waver with a sign using profanity against Biden a patriot or a disrespectful boor?

A view of what patriotism was during the Vietnam War era might be instructive today. One of the most common refrains we now hear about that war is “don’t get the U.S. into another Vietnam.”

In hindsight, we understand how senseless that war was. Yet when the first Vietnam protests started they were met by a conservative backlash.

My Country, Right or Wrong!

Protesters were beaten by construction workers. So, who were the patriots back then? The people who stood up for America right or wrong? Or the protesters who said stop this crazy war?

Like Mclaughlin, I am disturbed that only 38% of all adults are extremely proud to be American. But does the lack of pride directly correlate to a lack of patriotism? Do all the people who are not proud to be Americans hate America?

Or do they just want to live in an America where they can be proud?

In Ohio, perhaps more people would be proud Americans if our right wing majority had provided fair election districts instead of ignoring the 74% of Ohioans who voted to end partisan gerrymandering.

Or if conservatives were not working on a constitutional amendment to require a 60% majority for a citizens’ referendum to amend the constitution in order to make it much more difficult for voters to again try to require that fair districts be drawn, or to try to expand a woman’s right to choose.

Or if conservatives were not stoking the fires of the culture war by using LGBTQ and trans-gender children as cannon fodder.

Mclaughlin said that patriotism was defined by standing for the Anthem and never doubting the greatness of the nation. I don’t disagree that these things are part of what patriotism is.

But I prefer a broader definition: A patriot is someone who knows the problems the nation faces, who recognizes that people who have different views, or loudly point out problems, are allies, not enemies, and who puts energy toward fighting problems rather than fighting with other Americans.

So respect the flag.

Give thanks that you live in a country where peoples’ rights are protected. Teach your children that the founding fathers were giants who truly changed the world for the better. But don’t forget that all is not peaches and cream for many of your fellow Americans.

That our American heroes are human beings with human frailties. And most of all, remember we are all in this together.

There are many ways to be patriotic. Respect them all.

God Bless America.

Lou Jannazo retired from a career in government in 2017. He is now a high school junior variety baseball coach and volunteer teacher of English for Speakers of Other Languages.