Colin Kaepernick, the police,and the Constitution. How are they are all linked together in one common belief?

Recently there has been a few stories in the news about NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his sitting during the playing of the National Anthem before 2 NFL games.  (2 games to date anyway) For those not aware of the story, Kaepernick has said he is not standing as a means of protest toward racial injustice between police and minority civilians.  Kaepernick is quoted in NFL media saying “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” 

Now the union that represents some of the police officers who would be paid to work during the games have said they might boycott due to Kaepernick's refusal to stand during the anthem.  A quote from the Los Angeles Times  in reference to the union's grievance with Kaepernick says  the police union complained that ""Kaepernick's "inappropriate behavior" has "threatened our harmonious working relationship.""  It was not mentioned in the article whether the police officers represented by the union all felt that way collectively.  

So there were a couple of thoughts that crossed my mind about this story.  None of them are in reference to what Kaepernick is protesting against, but only about the protest itself. Let's start with Colin Kaepernick.  As a citizen of this country, he is afforded the right to protest any social issue he wishes in any manor he chooses as long as it is peaceful and his refusal to stand during the National Anthem is an example of  a peaceful protest.  I know that many fans booed Kaepernick when he did not stand during the National Anthem and they had a right to do so as well.  

But I wished that some of those fans would have taken the time to remember that the National Anthem reminds us of the hard fought battle we waged to gain independence, to put in place a document that tells the citizens of this country how we will govern, and what rights will be in place to protect us from both the government and one another.  The Constitution gives Kaepernick the power to protest, the National Anthem reminds us of how important the Constitution is, and the fans that booed him?  I believe they felt Kaepernick was being disrespectful of the anthem, and while that may be true, they didn't respect Kaepernick's right to protest, they just displayed their hurt feelings.

Now what about the police that want to boycott working NFL games where Kaepernick is a player. Of course the officers are citizens and can protest and boycott too, but only when they are out of uniform.  According the the International Association of Police Chiefs, new police officers take an oath when accepting the badge that goes like this: (copied from IACP.org)

On my honor,
I will never betray my badge1,
my integrity, my character, 
or the public trust.
I will always have
the courage to hold myself
and others accountable for our actions.
I will always uphold the constitution2
my community3 and the agency I serve.

It's the line about upholding the Constitution that irks me about the response of the police union. Upholding the Constitution means they are there to protect Kaepernick's right to protest but because they either didn't like the message or the method, they want to boycott. How can you swear to protect and defend and then say you don't want to do your job because your harmonious relationship is threatened?  I do not suggest that police cannot voice an opinion or take action, but they would need to do it out of uniform and boycott as citizens using their right to protest.  

There are some who do not agree with Colin's method of protest, some other's with the message, and some with both.  I remind anyone who disagrees with the method to recall the line from the National Anthem- O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.  I would suggest that Colin Kaepernick remembers just that.

Forever and a day since I was here

Sometimes the best of intentions will not get you where you want to be.  I had planned on writing in this blog far more than I have done.  Sometimes there wasn't much to write about, and sometimes I was so busy with other things that I would forget to write. 

For the past year or so I have been listening to Marc Maron's podcast.  He puts out 2 new podcasts each week.  The guests he has are usually A list people, and recently he had President Obama on the podcast.  This is a step up from his beginning podcasts.  But is shows that when you want to do something it takes time and creative energy to not only pump put content, but content that people want to be see, listen to, or read.

So I am motivated to begin anew, to put something out on the web that people want to read, I want people to look forward to something new from this page.  Hopefully I will be able to do just that starting with the next blog post.