To take a knee or not?

Should we stand or kneel during the playing of the national anthem? Our answer will depend on our race, geography, politics and beliefs about America.

The good news is, as usual, we are united in our disagreement. Player, pundit, fan or on-thestreet American, we all share the same ideals, even if they lead us to different answers. We all care about America.

Look at the San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills players who knelt in protest Sunday: They are doing so reverently, seriously, even with humility. Their heads are bowed, they put their hand on their heart. They believe in our country, what our flag represents, and are also making a point: that we are not done, that injustice and inequality still exist, and that we must continue the work of “perfecting our union.”

And those who stand? Like this columnist, they believe that showing solidarity with this country’s ideals, its inherent goodness, its unity, is also a way of ensuring the progress that is still needed. We work for each other when we stand together.

If you think about it, America was born in protest, by colonists insisting on freedom and representation, and has been sustained and made better by the same protests — for civil rights, women’s rights, gay and lesbian rights. Every step forward has been an act of disobedience to the status quo, and an insistence on the ideals embedded in our founding. It’s what we do.

Add in money, culture, politics and the Constitution, and it gets both a little bizarre and deadly serious. Black people are still dying on the streets of America more than they should and the inequality they live with is quite real. Is a football field the place to solve this problem? Yes and no.

What would Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi say? “Use any means necessary” would be my guess, followed immediately by “embrace your enemy if you would change him.” My quotations, my intuition, but look at the history and there is support.

Look also at Ken Burns’ recent documentary on the Vietnam War and the scenes of Jane Fonda and other Americans visiting and supporting the North Vietnamese, and history does not speak well in their favor. Despite the mechanized horror of America’s war, their protest or solidarity seems misplaced, even misused.

So what is a country to do? Rioting and killing is no solution and we’ve done lots of that. Nor is tweeting “Fire them!” If we are to continue our progress to a more just and fair society, then we must begin with tolerance and dialogue. We must insist on freedom, particularly of speech, even if it causes us heartburn and lost revenue.

We must also respect those who disagree with us, those who have stopped watching football or are offended by players taking a knee. Their views are as valid as mine and they are equally American.

Rodney King was badly beaten, by Los Angeles cops in 1992 and their acquittal by a jury set off six days of rioting in South Central Los Angeles. In all, 63 people died and order was only restored after the National Guard, U.S Army and a Marines division were called in.

If we think the underlying causes of that riot have gone away, we’re wrong. That’s why we have to fix things and why we have to let football players protest by kneeling.

We must also remember that The Star Spangled Banner was written about the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. America was under attack and so were its ideals. If we now face a greater danger from within, from the divisions that would tear us apart, then it is an especially good time to stand, too.