2aguy
Diamond Member
- Jul 19, 2014
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When you judge others, you do not define them, you define yourself.
-- Earl Nightingale [If you do nothing else with this post, listen to Earl]
To my mind, a patriot, a genuine one, is a person who looks objectively at his/her country, sees the the reprobate and righteous, and in turn praises the good and denounces and moves to alter the bad.
Colin is clearly not trying to forsake his citizenship; thus he must necessarily see more good than bad about the U.S. He's doing what people of integrity do: bringing to bear the resources at their disposal to try to effect corrections of that which they see as errant.
"Everyday citizens" (people who hold neither formal nor overwhelming economic power) like Kaepernick do not deserve scorn and ridicule for doing exactly that. One need not agree with them or him; however, they and he deserve our respect for...
(a) unlike so many people -- especially some members here [1] -- who think of political discourse and conversation as entertainment,Colin Kaepernick is not anonymously sitting before a computer screen typing vulgarities and personal slights at every person and idea that offends him or that doesn't align with the partisan rhetoric he heard on his favorite propaganda show. The man is expressing himself peacefully and quietly.
(b) unlike so many who rail about all they think needs correcting yet won't get off their asses and join in discussions among individuals and organizations whereby one can actually be part of effecting positive change [2],
The U.S. has a long tradition of patriots who in their day "stood and were counted," people who openly spoke up about what they felt was wrong with their country and acted to see the ill(s) ended. Just a very few examples and individuals are noted below.
When I consider Colin Kaepernick's actions at a football game, I'm reminded of the "sit in" movement. That man's protest is nothing other than kneeling quietly and waiting for the game to start. Silence is a powerful thing.
- 1668 Quaker Petition against slavery -- Garret Hendricks, Derick de Graeff, Francis Daniel Pastorius and Abraham up Den Graeff
- Boston Tea Party -- Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty
- American Revolution - [you had better know enough of the names that I don't need to list any]
- Civil Rights Movement
- 1919 Chicago Riots -- 1500+ individuals who lost their lives and/or homes
- 1939 Lincoln Memorial Concert -- Marian Anderson, Charlie Russel and Eleanor Roosevelt,
- Montgomery Bus Boycott -- Rosa Parks and thousands of others who daily gave up hours of their lives due to unrecoverable time lost by having to find alternate means of transportation.
- 1963 March on Washington -- Martin L. King, Jr.
- 1965 Selma March -- MLK, Jr., Rep. John Lewis, J.L. Chestnut, Stokely Carmichael, Fay Powell, Hosea Williams, and many others.
- Sit Ins -- I think the Woolworth's Lunch Counter one may be the most famous, but I have no idea of the names of the people who participated in them. I don't know that the things even were formally organized rather than being an organic development.
- Women's Suffrage and Equal Rights Movement
- Seneca Falls Convention -- Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
- 1968 Miss America Protest ("bra burning" -- the protest was real; the bra burning was not) -- Robin Morgan and some several hundred other women
- Vietnam Antiwar Movement
- Anti Globalization/Anti-WTO-IMF Movement
- Labor Movement
- 1939 GM Tool and Die Workers Strike -- Walter Reuther
- Occupy Wall Street Movement
Note:
- If one feels the need, one can scan for posts in the following threads to find an assortment of direct and indirect examples:
- Some examples include but are not limited to organizations noted in the following posts:
-- Policy debate and discussion
-- You're here...You should consider going there and sharing your ideas where it matters...
Aside:
For as much invective and vitriol as is seen on USMB about freedom of expression, one'd think that not one soul here would countenance any sort of recriminations against Colin Kaepernick.
No...he isn't doing his job...which is to play football to entertain football fans. Those fans don't want politics in their game.....so he isn't doing his job....besides that he isn't a good player, which is why he hasn't been picked up.