NFL Players Should not be Forced to Stand During the National Anthem

   Patriotism at the point of firing? Show us your patriotism or we will fire you? I am not among those who feel the NFL players should be forced to do what the president says. And, that is supposing the players are being unpatriotic. I do not believe they are. I believe they are merely wanting to state their beliefs on violence against black people. And, we jump on them and say, "This proves you are unpatriotic. This shows you have no respect for the flag, nor for the Constitution, nor for those who have spilled blood to give you your right to think this way."
   Mind you, they are guilty of none of the above. It is we who are assigning to them these beliefs, these faults. Standing and saluting the flag is a cultural norm. Culture dictates that you do it or be considered unpatriotic, be considered someone who does not respect those who have died on the battlefield. But, free speech means that the act of saluting the flag can mean something else to you. You do not have to subscribe to other people's beliefs that say you are unpatriotic for not saluting the flag. You can have your own opinion as to whether you are belittling the deaths of those who died on the battlefield. Freedom of speech means you can be very appreciative of those who died, yet have other things in mind when you decide whether to stand during the National Anthem. A salute from one person can mean he respects those who died on the battlefield. Failing to salute from another person can mean he is simply displeased with the nation's failure to act to prevent racial crime. Freedom of speech means someone else's meaning does not need to be yours. If they assume you are not patriotic, that is their fault. Even as we believe in free speech, we should not require everyone to adhere to the same forms of expression, the same cultural ways of expressing patriotism. We should not require others to adopt our tokens of patriotism.
  Some argue that the national anthem is not the time nor the place for protest. I would suggest that, too, is a matter of opinion. Deciding when and where someone else should protest also can amount to limiting their free speech. I don't think we should be too quick to dictate to them the times and places we find acceptable for them to be protesting. If the timing of their protest breaks a necessary law, then, yes, that is wrong. If they rise up in the middle of a play and disrupt the public peace in order to express an opinion, yes, that is wrong. But, if their timing harms no one, their free speech should not be squelched or limited.
  It is wrong for a president of the United States to coerce people to be patriotic. It is even more wrong, then, when he tries to coerce them to be patriotic and the charge that they are not patriotic is false.