It seems the range of discourse for taking a knee has no
end. I have made my contributions along
the way. Some agree and some don’t. I don’t lose any sleep either way. I enjoy the free and open grapple from which
the truth should emerge should John Milton’s premise bear validity. I do hope that we can discuss issues of
controversy with a civil tongue or even more civil keyboard.
Consider that with respect to nations and their leaders, the
knee is bent only to the sovereign—generally the king. Salutes are rendered as a sign of mutual
respect among those in the service of the their country.
So, during the National Anthem, those who kneel are
rendering respect to their king—in our case the president, and those who salute
recognize that we as the people are sovereign.
I thought that we didn’t like kings in this country. After fighting the British for our independence,
George Washington had to refuse kingship.
I am glad that he did. Our
founders brought forth a wonderful constitution. Every member of the armed forces and all
officers of the United States promise by oath to support and defend the
Constitution of the United States.
I will not bend my knee to any person claiming sovereignty
in this nation; yet, those you take a knee during the National Anthem seem to
be rendering fealty to their King, Donald Trump. I would guess that most of those taking a
knee would find this offensive.
Saluting the National Ensign during the National Anthem is a
sign that the people are sovereign and brings back words from Abraham
Lincoln—that government of the people, by
the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.
I much prefer the sovereignty of the people, though we trust
the work to our representatives, than bending a knee to a king or queen. This is a country where people have
incredible freedom, so if they choose to bend a knee to President Trump during
the National Anthem, it’s their right.
If they want to make a statement about fixing problems in this nation,
embracing the sovereignty of the people with respect during our anthem is more
appropriate and effective.
Just to put a larger perspective on this, I do not hesitate
to bend my knee to the King of kings and the Lord of lords that we know as
Christ Jesus. If there were a lot more
of that happening, many of the problems that we have in this nation would be
resolved in short order. Worldly
government would become less relevant.
Yes, I know that nobody is kneeling before Donald Trump as
their king; but my point is that what they are doing in protest is counterproductive. Consider the Westboro Baptists protest at the
funerals of servicemen killed in action.
They said they were protesting gays in the military. Were they effective?
On the contrary, they just looked like a bunch of
jerks. There were neither effective nor
Christlike. They were very much in the
hate business and their targets were the grieving families of those who had
given the full measure of devotion to this great nation.
Likewise, taking a knee during the National Anthem is not
effective and has only served to increase hatred. There are better ways to bring attention to
problems. Divisiveness is not the
answer.
We have the right to express ourselves in many ways. We sometimes forget that exercising our
rights can help or hinder the general good.
We have the freedom to do almost anything as far as expression goes, but
not all exercises of freedom are beneficial.
I know of no better place on the planet where the people
have a chance to live abundant, productive, and purposeful lives. We have problems. I pray we have the courage to work on the
problems instead of dividing ourselves into fiefdoms of self-interest.
Let’s put God first, work together, and understand that our
blessings of liberty are so very fragile that they only exist in this
moment. Preserving them requires
patriotism and unselfishness.
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o’er the land
of the free and the home of the brave?