We were never really NFL viewers in the first place, so I surmise that this decision to mandate that the players stand for the national anthem has nothing to do with us, really.
But.
For the record, I do get choked up standing for "The Star Spangled Banner." And I do feel a sense of pride for the the country in which I was fortunate enough to be born, that has afforded me myriad privileges in my 36 years of life.
However.
I do simultaneously recognize that I share this country with humans for whom lynching was a reality a mere generation ago, and whose family members were enslaved as a matter of constitutional law for many generations before that. And I have been afforded the opportunity to thrive because other people were forced from their native lands in the relatively recent past. And that the benefits afforded to me by marriage (like health insurance and tax filing status) have only been available to all in this country for A MERE THREE YEARS.
So.
I believe that a thriving America allows for dissenting voices. That progress generally results from discomfort. That we have an ugly past to truly recognize and reconcile before we can meaningfully move forward. That none of this happens overnight. And that peaceful protest is one of the most precious gifts afforded to us by our nation's founders, defended by our soldiers, and represented by our flag.
As such.
Even really clever Super Bowl commercials and flashy half-time shows have how officially lost their charm.
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