I have a thing about misunderstandings – It’s a real thing for me. When confronted with my own, while it’s not an easy thing to admit to, I do try to re-educate myself so I don’t continue to make false forays into the way the world works. It isn’t an easy thing to do, but I try to self-correct.

Having said that I also have a thing about the misunderstandings of others that seriously impinge on me and my life so I do on occasion find I have to say something about it. This is a time in the state of our country when I’m finding it more and more necessary to do so.

Colin Kaepernick has raised considerable turmoil and media attention for making a personal statement during the playing of the national anthem during NFL games, a statement he makes within his First Amendment right of free speech. If you haven’t stopped long enough to read his reasoning please do so, you owe it to him, and more importantly you owe it to yourself. I think you’ll find it enlightening and should answer some of the more important questions in this flap.

The national response to this man was instantaneous and virulent – So much hatred poured out it was an amazing sight to behold, especially if you are a student of the Constitution and specifically the First Amendment, and if you are a patriot. The hatred quotient was off the charts, and all over a man kneeling as a protest and statement about a wrong in our society. So many saw this as a slight to the flag, to the national anthem, to America, and especially to the women and men who have donned the uniform of the U.S. military and accepted assignments often in harm’s way to protect our freedoms and our way of life and the interests of our country.

The most amazing thing in all of this is that none of these anti-protests have been based on what the man is saying in his protest, just the fact that he is protesting. Few seemed to be listening to him, let alone arguing against his statement about the plight of African Americans in our nation. I guess that wouldn’t be kosher at all so I can see why a person wouldn’t ‘t want to argue on that point. Instead virtually all of those protesting him made it personal as if he was directing his attack solely at them. Which brings me to my thing about misunderstandings – This whole matter is one of misunderstandings.

First of all, his detractors seem to not understand what it is he is saying. He is protesting the treatment of blacks in our country and until we as a nation stand up and face this reality he doesn’t feel he can stand up for his country as it stands today. That’s my interpretation of Mr. Kaepernick’s stance, and I hope I haven’t misunderstood his message.

Misunderstandings come in many colors and guises, not the least of which is in how it is enacted. Colin Kaepernick is kneeling in protest, and without understanding his why his message is getting lost in the flurry. Yet those protesting him are doing so in ways based on a misunderstanding of the Constitution and without benefit of understanding why he is doing it. One misunderstanding raging on another misunderstanding.

The misunderstandings that surround Colin Kaepernick’s stance, here his kneeling, rests in two main areas: 1) misunderstanding the First Amendment, and 2) misunderstanding the First Amendment.

• Our Constitution is the bedrock of our legal system and the freedoms we enjoy. The First Amendment guarantees each of us the right to express our grievances in a manner of our choosing. Short of several restrictions such as yelling “FIRE!” in a crowded theatre and against hate speech, which are designed for the security and benefit of the greater good, we are free to choose how we express our right to speak freely. This right is reserved for each of us personally. It is in misunderstanding this basic tenet that we have the problematic response to Colin Kaepernick. No one, not any one, has the right to dictate to him how he is to express his grievances. No one, not you, not me, has the right to tell him he can’t express himself by kneeling during the national anthem. If is repugnant to you that he does so and it really galls you, you have the right to your opinion and to express that, but your objections to his choice do not give you the right to strip him of his First Amendment rights, to take that decision from him. It’s just that simple.
• The First Amendment specifically grants each of us the freedom of speech to express a grievance in a manner of our choosing. That means we are the sole determiner of how we choose to express that freedom. When our women/men don a uniform of our armed forces and accept assignments often in harm’s way to protect our freedoms and secure the interests of our nation they do so willingly and in our name. They willingly go out there for us – each of us. They have gone out and continue to do so for Colin Kaepernick to insure he has the First Amendment protections we all enjoy. Again, they didn’t do it so you and I could tell Colin he can’t kneel during the national anthem. You have the right to say he shouldn’t, that he is wrong, maybe that he’s misguided, but saying he can’t kneel says you don’t believe he has the First Amendment right that you so righteously enjoy. It means you do not understand the First Amendment and what it means when it says “freedom of speech.” And again it reflects that you don’t have the faintest idea why he is doing what he is doing, and that’s equally a sad commentary here.
• Actually there’s a third issue involved and it has to do with the First Amendment. I frequently see a post from someone protesting Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel by calling into question his patriotism. Occasionally this is accompanied by allusions to military personnel calling into question Colin’s patriotism and how his expression is an affront to all the women/men who have sacrificed for his freedoms. This person appears not to see the irony in what he is saying. Occasionally a protest is from someone in the military, often of high rank, who seeks to use his uniform to “shame” Colin into changing his mind, as though the uniform is really the moral arbiter of Colin Kaepernick’s choice here. The point is that shaming to derive a desired behavior when it has to do with the First Amendment is still wrong and a misunderstanding of the right. This merely exhibits a deeper misunderstanding on the part of the person using their uniform as a shaming tool. No person in uniform has ever been sent out in the interests of our county to secure our freedoms only to allow someone else to make my decision for me or yours for you. It appears that some in uniform have the mistaken idea that they sacrificed for us not for our freedoms but for some misunderstood reason that limits my decision making here. No, you weren’t sent out with that charge.

So – there’s my take on this whole flap over Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the national anthem. And again, if you haven’t read his statements about why he is doing what he’s doing check it out. Ask him why. And if you have an argument about his beliefs about how African Americans are treated in this country bring that up in discussion with him. I’m sure he’d like to hear what you think on the matter. If you’re not willing to do that then you should at least read the First Amendment of the Constitution for some clarity.