Long ago I stood at attention in uniform and saluted as the American flag was raised or lowered, when the national anthem was played, or any time Old Glory passed my way.  My actions were not generated from within me, with pride and conviction about myself and my place in a society that I loved and respected without conditions; it was a learned response that was demanded from me and that I accepted.  It was not a burden because I did have hopes that some day I might change my personal status and become part of that same society that had so decidedly rejected me and my circumstances.  I was never nostalgic for that past; rather, I was hopeful that some day I might have a better future in spite of it.  

Fast forward.  Today, after years of clawing and trying to kick down barriers of every kind, and surmounting some of them, and after wearing that same uniform in many lands, in good times and bad, and in support of all actions, on and off the fields of battle, I reject the flag wavers as “sunshine patriots,” those who can only sing and salute, but who want others to carry the burden of fighting and dying.  Still, I am not a hawk; I yearn yet for the day when all those remaining barriers in America come down, and the least among us can find his or her destiny without have to beg for the chance to do so. 

It is from that background that I support Colin Kaepernick, the 49ers quarterback, when he decides how he wants to show his feelings about the national anthem. 

Perhaps Kaepernick does not think of America as the “land of the free and the home of the brace.”  Why should he?  It is only partly free, and partly brave.  And those parts are very small.  He has chosen to acknowledge the larger part that is neither free nor brave.  And so his actions are well justified. If free speech means anything at all, it gives him the right to think and to act according to his conscience, as long as he does not prevent you or me from doing the same.  He has the added advantage to having been paid enough money so that he is pretty much free to do and say whatever he wishes regardless of what anyone else may think. 

Patriotism is an overworked term that needs some rest.  Is a billionaire who pays no taxes patriotic?  Or one who demeans a naval flyer whose plane had the misfortune of being hit by enemy fire in combat, but who survived more than 5 years in captivity, and lived to tell about it?  How patriotic is the commenter who says “I like those who were not captured?”  And how patriotic are those who avoid paying the costs of wars, that they also avoid being a part of, yet who have the temerity to proclaim “Make America Great Again?”  For whom, and why, and how?  I like those who speak, live, demonstrate, and show me they have the right stuff. 

Irving Berlin was a Jewish immigrant from Russia with little formal education.  His early ambition while living in New York’s lower east side was to become a singing waiter in a saloon.  In spite of those limitations, he became our most famous song writer, especially with all those brilliant compositions known as the “American Song Book.”  Among his 1,500 songs were Easter Parade, White Christmas, and God Bless America. He also wrote many songs during WWII that helped to rally the nation behind our cause. He was short in stature, long on talent, and deep in his love for his adopted country.  He was also modest, humble, appreciative, and genuinely respected.  If those are not the elements of patriotism, then I guess I have missed the point.