There seems to be a large number of folks who have this curious take on what our flag means to us. It is definitely important in so many ways, and most individuals have a personal favorite thing about it that makes it so important, and that’s just fine, that’s how it should be. But here’s the thing, how each of us thinks about it doesn’t necessarily hold true in the minds of others. And that’s the rub.

There is one thing about the flag though that should be clear and uniform among all of us, and that has to do with the First Amendment of the Constitution. On a fundamental level our flag is merely a piece of cloth with a variety of colors helping to define who we are. The colors typically mean something, and the design and arrangement of symbols adds to the understanding of what it represents and means. Bottom line, it’s a piece of colored cloth with meaning.

We attribute a variety of things to this piece of cloth based on our history as a nation, things important in our origins and what over the years has made us who we are. Usually the history we as a people have come through adds to the importance and meaning of those colors and symbols, giving us a national identity that powerfully moves us in times of national importance.

Here’s the misunderstanding some people have come to hold: The action of an individual in relation to the flag or the National Anthem comes in only one color, one interpretation, one meaning. The beauty of our country, however, is that our Constitution, specifically through the First Amendment, gives each of us the powerful right of freedom of expression, and to display that in any way we choose or see fit. When Colin Kaepernick chose to take a knee during the National Anthem, he wasn’t showing disrespect for the flag or his country, nor was he disrespecting our military women and men who have donned a uniform and accepted assignments in places of harm to protect all our freedoms. It was merely his expression of the free moment of protest guaranteed him by our Constitution.

Here is the simple and clear fact about the First Amendment that should dispel any notion to the contrary, that no military personnel has ever been sent on assignment to protect and preserve our freedoms in order that someone other than you yourself determines how you express your First Amendment rights.

While any discussion around protests can become complex very quickly, the issue is quite simply this, no one has the right to tell anyone else how they can or should express their freedom of speech.

To anyone who was listening, Colin clearly explained why he was taking a knee, namely to protest police brutality, and the killing of unarmed black men by police. Here are the only relevant questions for anyone who opposes his actions: Are you saying you should be the one determining Colin’s First Amendment rights, or are you placing yourself in support of what he’s protesting?

Think carefully here.