“Fellow countrymen:
Two hundred forty-two years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Equality guarantees everyone’s freedom to protest in America. Including kneeling for the national anthem and American flag.
Equality also guarantees this: No one has any right or power to make anyone else agree with or listen to them or watch any football game if they choose.
In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time.
Such was the case with the Civil War. 2,672,341 Union soldiers fought under the 35-star American Flag during the Civil War. The vast majority were white men from the North who had never seen or met a black person in their life before the War.
642,427 of those Union soldiers suffered casualties during the War. There may not be another prior instance in history where a war was fought and slaves of another race or nationality were freed and not re-enslaved by the victors.
Let us not ever forget these brave men who consecrated the rebirth of freedom for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.
1,227,890 Rebel soldiers fought under the Confederate Flag. They lost. They and 3 million other white Southerners lost everything; land, possessions, political power, slavery; you name it, they lost it.
The Union flag prevailed. The Rebel flag didn’t. If for no other reason, that should be cause for the utmost respect every time the American flag is unfurled and the national anthem is played.
If you want to kneel before flags that represent past injustice, kneel before the English, Portuguese or French flags. They were the largest slave traders for centuries before and after America was colonized.
From beyond the grave, I have witnessed hundreds of millions of people being freed from oppression and dictatorship the world over by men and women serving under the American Flag.
16.1 million American soldiers served in World War II under the 48-star flag to defeat the German Nazis and the Japanese to protect and preserve the very freedoms used today.
There may be good reason to protest specific police departments for excessive use of force against minorities. Protest in front of each one. Start and pay for schools such as the one LeBron James started in Akron to help young children from impoverished neighborhoods get a great education and escape the cycle of poverty.
Run for public office and set policy for local law enforcement to deal with the tough issues they face every day. Serving in public office is a high form of patriotism as well.
It can never be explained while kneeling during the national anthem that ‘no disrespect is intended’ toward millions of fellow Americans who have served in the military.
The American flag and anthem are very important to them whether a protester likes it or not.
Slavery and racism have been a cancer on the soul of humanity everywhere since time immemorial. From where I sit today, the most amazing thing about America is not how far we need to go for full equality but how far we have come from the beginning of our Republic.
Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that Martin Luther King’s dream will soon come true: ‘(Our) children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.’
It is for the living to be dedicated to the unfinished work which they who fought before have thus far so nobly advanced. It is for all Americans to be dedicated to the great task remaining.”
