ZU Magazine is a publication of ZU Media. Below is an article from Issue 3: Freedom.

Managing Editor of ZU Magazine | Wesley Koswara

It’s been over a year since Colin Kaepernick, then playing for the San Francisco 49ers, first started kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality in America. Ever since, his actions have proven extremely polarizing. Everyone from presidents to fellow players to military personnel have had something to say about what he stands for when he takes a knee.

I, however, believe that within the hailstorm of angry tweets and raised fists is birthed a discussion that America needs to have. Are we, as Americans, willing to let those who disagree with us make use of the freedoms men and women have died to give them?

TIMELINE

It was Aug. 26 of last year that Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest was first picked up by the media, right after the 49er’s third preseason game. According to NFL Network reporter Mark Garafolo, he had been sitting during the anthem all preseason.

On Aug. 28, two days later, Kaepernick first spoke to the media.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder,” he said after the game.

By Sept. 1 he was joined by fellow teammate, Eric Reid. In the coming months, many followed their example. On the same day, Jeremy Lane of the Seattle Seahawks remained seated during the national anthem before a game in San Diego. Megan Rapinoe, a midfielder for the Seattle Reign Football Club, took a knee before a game against the Chicago Red Stars.

The fire Kaepernick had started began to spread in earnest. On Sept. 11, players from the Seahawks, Dolphins, Chiefs and Patriots showed their support by kneeling, linking arms, or raising fists in solidarity. Soon, players from high school teams, cheerleaders and school marching bands began to kneel.

TIME Magazine’s October issue even featured Kaepernick on its cover, acknowledging the influence he had on the sports world.

THE RESPONSE

“The test of our fidelity to our constitution,”  former President Barack Obama said on the topic of Kaepernick’s protest, “to freedom of speech, to the bill of rights, is not when it’s easy, but when it’s hard. We fight sometimes so that people can do things that we disagree with, but that’s what freedom means in this country.”

Former President Obama had been talking to CNN on respecting people’s rights to express differing opinions. Not everyone who talked to the media, however, was as equable.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b—- off the field right now, out, he’s fired. He’s fired,'” President Trump said at a political rally in Alabama.

He continued, “… Cause that’s a total disrespect of our heritage, that’s a total disrespect of everything that we stand for, okay? Everything that we stand for.”

On the orders of the President, VP Mike Pence left a Colts v. 49ers game on Oct. 8.

“While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I don’t think it’s too much to ask NFL players to respect the Flag and our National Anthem,” Pence said in a statement.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined the conversation, calling Kaepernick and the actions of his supporters “really dumb.”

“If they want to be stupid, there’s no law that should be preventive,” Ginsburg said. “If they want to be arrogant, there’s no law that prevents them from that.”

In a poll conducted by E-Poll Marketing Research in 2016, it was found that Colin Kaepernick was then the most disliked player in the NFL. The poll surveyed 1,100 people, with Kaepernick being ‘disliked a lot’ by 29 percent of participants, more than any of the other 350 players included.

THE ARGUMENT

The line between patriotism and nationalism has ever been a fine one. The point that I wish to address lies not in the validity of Kaepernick’s cause, but rather in our reaction as Americans to his method.

Kaepernick’s detractors accuse him of disrespecting the military and the sacrifices that Americans have made for his freedoms. To me, it seems that plenty of American people, our President among them, would prefer that Kaepernick never make use of those freedoms at all, despite the cost at which they have been bought.

After a conversation with former Green Beret Nate Boyer, Kaepernick specifically chose to kneel rather than sit to show respect for the military while still being able to protest.

“We were talking to [Boyer] about how can we get the message back on track and not take away from the military, not take away from fighting for our country, but keep the focus on what the issues really are,” Kaepernick said  “And as we talked about it, we came up with taking a knee. Because there are issues that still need to be addressed and it was also a way to show more respect to the men and women who fight for this country.”

Is Kaepernick’s fight unjust? Has he broken any law? In a league with players who have been charged with assault, rape, and murder, our animosity comes to rest on someone standing up against police brutality and racial violence.

Still, people are free to dislike how Kaepernick chooses to protest. Front offices are free to leave him unsigned for the season.

In closing, however, I must ask: for what does America stand, if not for the rights of the citizen body to publicly criticize the state? My hope is that we never become so fanatically tied to a display of allegiance to our country that we forget that it was founded on the revolutionary idea that we might not like what other people say, but that we as Americans would fight to the death for their right to say it.