In countries, like my birthplace Cuba, afflicted by communism, taking a knee comes not from the freedom of protest given by your First Amendment Rights, but instead, comes as a last plea to God, just prior to being executed
As you all might have noticed, a recent headline news was the story of President Trump disinviting the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles from a planned White House celebration of the team’s Super Bowl championship – a celebration which has now become sort of a tradition. Less than 24 hours before the players were expected to arrive in the Rose Garden, Trump made his announcement.
Trump’s decision came amid some Eagle players saying they would skip the ceremony in protest to the president and his rhetoric – a movement which started with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, as the latter pioneered sitting down and/or taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem. Trump’s righteous decision to uninvite the players, not only was a gallant “first-ever” but, just as well, opened the gates for a flood of disparagement and condemnation from the left in the nation, which, then again, should come as no surprise whatsoever, as, no matter what Trump does, even if he were to make every American wealthy tomorrow, liberal-democrats – a term which to me is synonymous with “Marxists / communists”, would find something off-beam with the man. What else is new, I ask?
This hate-culture is by default just part of the destruction left behind by a communist president on the cusp of his presidential election when, on October 30th, 2008, he said: “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America”.
Anyways, in the wake of the revival of controversies brought about by the Eagles’ disinvitation, a good friend of mine, sent me one of those “pass-it-on” blogs written as a memorial-day tribute to all fallen heroes who sacrificed their lives in past wars for the sake of the liberties we all enjoy today. The narrative was unambiguously meant as a poignant critique of NFL players who continue to sit or take a knee during the playing of our national anthem. Mind you, I am one that typically deletes these pass-through blogs as, if I didn’t, I probably find myself surfing through zillions of trivial, unwanted correspondences, most of which would find a better home in my junk mail. Yet for some inexplicable reason, I did read the blog sent by my friend and not only did I enjoy reading it, I also passed it on as requested, but moreover, it served as an inspiration for my writing this narrative today – one which, I too, dedicate to what our national anthem and our flag should represent to all honorable American men and women.
The unsavory story leading to today’s NFL players’ controversies, began after then San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began sitting during the playing of the national anthem at the start of the 2016 NFL preseason. In the final preseason game, Kaepernick opted to kneel rather than sit. Kaepernick explained his decision to switch from sitting to kneeling was an attempt to show more respect to former and current U.S. military members while still protesting during the anthem – how gracious, right?
When first questioned by the media, Kaepernick said he chose to kneel during the anthem to call attention to the issues of racial inequality and police brutality. Since 2016 many other NFL teams, players, coaches, and even owners joined Kaepernick’s hate-crusade. For the record only, Kaepernick was initially moved to protest by the deaths of African Americans to, presumably, abusive police actions that gained prominence through the Black Lives Matter movement. And, for the record too, Black Lives Matter just happens to be same movement that riots chanting, “Pigs in a blanket, fry them like bacon” and “What do we want? Dead Cops, referring to men and women in police uniforms.
This, dear friends, is the new culture of radical racial divide in our nation, albeit one which takes precedence on the very same canons predicated by communism. Don’t let yourself be brainwashed into believing that the NFL protests are just a form of innocuous appeals for social reforms. They are, instead, part of a well-organized movement aimed at fundamentally transforming the U.S., from a federal republic to a communist state, much like Obama predicted he would do.
Now, I don’t know about you, but as far as I am concerned, there are just no greater symbols of patriotism than our flag and our national anthem. All attempts aimed at demeaning either one as far as I am concerned is simply a desecration to our heritage and all our nation stands for. But then again, take a close look at the character that started it all--Colin Kaepernick.
To all the protesting NFL players as well as coaches I say, shame on you all. You may be good at your sport, but for God's sake do not use the popularity of the sport to desecrate what most of the rest of your 320 million fellow-Americans revere and respect, as when you do, you are disrespecting all of us. Our national anthem was first recognized by law in 1931, while there was no prescribed behavior during its playing. Since 1998, federal law, the United States Code 36 U.S.C. § 301, states that during the rendition of the national anthem, when the flag is displayed, all present including those in uniform should stand at attention; Non-military service individuals should face the flag with the right hand over the heart.
The text of Code 36 U.S.C. § 301 is suggestive and not regulatory in nature. Failure to follow the suggestions is not a violation of the law. I understand the behavioral comportment of the players is subject to the same controversies as those afflicting the Pledge of Allegiance and the burning of our flags – all seemingly protected by the First Amendment rights. However, it is not a question of rule of law at all. It is, instead, an “ethical decision”.
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I very much understand that we live in a world where the term “ethical”, has been eroded to where it doesn’t have much of the meaning it used to. To most of us, the ethical decision to stand while our anthem is played, and our flag is displayed is a personal decision decidedly inspired by our conscientious respect of what the anthem represents. By the same inspiration that led Francis Scott Key to write the poem “Defense of Fort McHenry” – a poem written on September 14th, 1814, by the amateur poet after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in the Baltimore Harbor. Key was inspired by the large U.S. flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the U.S. victory. The number 15 reflecting the 13 original British colonies that declared independence from the kingdom of Great Britain becoming the first 13 states of the U.S. with the latter addition reflecting the entry of Vermont and Kentucky to the Union.
To all of you kneeling during the playing of our national anthem, let me tell you what the anthem means to me and why I stand whenever the first note is played. I stand in respect for all that the anthem and our flag represent. To me, they stand for all the sacrifices of men and women who have worn a United States' military uniform to defend our nation, our constitution and our freedoms; including, yes including, our police forces; they stand for all the men and women who gave their lives fighting so that you could earn your millions playing football on Sunday afternoons; they mean the widows, the relatives and friends of all who died fighting our wars for your freedoms, and asked nothing in return other than you hailed their memory by standing while our national anthem is played; they mean the wounded, mentally and physically; all the fatherless and motherless children who have to live their lives with nothing but a memory of someone they never knew; all the thousands of men and women who, for the rest of their lives, will have to live with the scars of wars; with lost limbs and distorted faces – all just so that you could stand while our anthem is played and our flag is displayed.
As for all you “white, wealthy owners”, you are even more disdainful than your players. For them [the players] as wrongful as it may be, they may be true to their cause, while you, you rats are all about the money. Your support of “racial injustices” comes not from your hearts but from your pockets, as 70% of the NFL players are black, thus your repulsive support to gain the graces of those helping you earn your millions. You are as disgraceful, if not more so, than the culprits themselves. Shame on you. Take the repulsive owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones.
On September 11th, 2016, before a game on this commemorative date, Jones called a meeting with all his coaches, players and field staff and firmly told them: “You are simply, paid performers on a stage and that field is my stage! You will stand with your hand over your heart and with respect, when our country’s national anthem is being played or you will no longer be a Dallas Cowboy, a Coach for the Dallas Cowboys or have any association with the Dallas Cowboy Organization! I will immediately fire you, no matter who you are.”
On September 25th, 2017, a year after the aforementioned statement, amid some fiery debates over whether professional athletes were correct in kneeling, Jerry Jones linked arms and kneeled together with players in a sign of support to the national anthem desecration. In that same month, President Donald Trump, speaking at a rally in Huntsville, Alabama said NFL owners should fire players who took a knee during the playing of the national anthem as well as encouraged fans to walk out. Trump suggested to NFL owners to say to the kneeling players: “Get that son of a # off the field right now, out, he’s fired!”. Kudos to Trump one more time. This is why he and all of us who love this country won the 2016 elections. It’s about moral values, it’s about our heritage; it’s about standing up during the playing of our national anthem. All you liberal democrats just don’t get it.
Time for you NFL cry-babies to realize that there are 320 million of your fellow-Americans, who despise your kneeling to where many of us would not mind, finding something else to do on Sunday afternoons rather than having to watch you spoiled prima-donnas take a knee as the anthem is played.
As expected Donald Trump’s stance on this controversy sparked all kinds of criticism. On September 24th, 2017 the NFL protests became more widespread than ever when over 200 players sat or took a knee in response to Trump’s calling for owners to fire the protesting players. On May 23rd, 2018, the NFL Commissioner and the NFL team owners approved a new policy requiring all players to stand during the national anthem or given the option to stay in the locker room during the national anthem.
I shall end my narrative today with a quote from “A Guide to the Political Left” – Profile of Barack Obama through Election Day 2008:
“…organizing is a euphemism for “revolution” -- a wholesale revolution whose ultimate objective is the systematic acquisition of power by a purportedly oppressed segment of the population, and the radical transformation of America's social and economic structure. The goal is to foment enough public discontent, moral confusion, and outright chaos to spark the social upheaval that Marx, Engels, and Lenin predicted -- a revolution whose foot soldiers view the status quo as fatally flawed and wholly unworthy of salvation. Thus, the theory goes, the people will settle for nothing less than that status quo’s complete collapse -- to be followed by the erection of an entirely new system upon its ruins. Toward that end, they will be apt to follow the lead of charismatic radical organizers who project an aura of confidence and vision, and who profess to clearly understand what types of societal “change” is needed.”
In closing, I shall rest my case by simply saying this. The kneeling of the NFL players as our national anthem is played is not, I repeat, it is not an independent protest in and of itself. It is not about police brutality or racial injustices, it is instead part of much bigger movement. It is part of a counter-culture revolution aimed at destroying all that our nation stood for – a revolution aimed at undermining the values for which true Americans have fallen in wars throughout the history of this great nation of ours, thus the unhinged desecration by the so-called progressive liberals of all that the United States stood for; of all that Donald J. Trump stands for, thus the massive attacks on his persona and the immense desire to impeach the only President since Ronald Reagan waging a war aimed at making America great again- aimed at returning to what America stood for.
By virtue of the fact that I was born in Cuba and I am a naturalized citizen of this great land, along with my citizenship I adopted the Star-Spangled Banner as my anthem. To this day as I hear its lyrics, still, I get teary eyed for reasons, some unknown, your anthem, my anthem, bring back memories of freedoms offered by this great land to many of us fleeing from the same perils you encourage by your kneeling during the playing of the national anthem. May I politely remind all of you that in countries, like my birthplace Cuba, afflicted by communism, taking a knee comes not from the freedom of protest given by your First Amendment Rights, but instead, comes as a last plea to God, just prior to being executed by a firing squad for taking a knee to begin with. My God bless us all and may God bless America.
Obie Usategui (The Patriot Obsever) and also runs AFCV-Americans For Conservative Values. Obie is also the author of The Beginning of the End—“The transition to Communism in our own United states has come peacefully, ironically, via democratically-sanctioned elections”
As you all might have noticed, a recent headline news was the story of President Trump disinviting the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles from a planned White House celebration of the team’s Super Bowl championship – a celebration which has now become sort of a tradition. Less than 24 hours before the players were expected to arrive in the Rose Garden, Trump made his announcement.
Trump’s decision came amid some Eagle players saying they would skip the ceremony in protest to the president and his rhetoric – a movement which started with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, as the latter pioneered sitting down and/or taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem. Trump’s righteous decision to uninvite the players, not only was a gallant “first-ever” but, just as well, opened the gates for a flood of disparagement and condemnation from the left in the nation, which, then again, should come as no surprise whatsoever, as, no matter what Trump does, even if he were to make every American wealthy tomorrow, liberal-democrats – a term which to me is synonymous with “Marxists / communists”, would find something off-beam with the man. What else is new, I ask?
