THE FLAG, THE NFL & ROSEANNE

What is real patriotism?

In the United States, a country with a 45-50 percent divorce rate, the Trinidadian-German Eurodance artist Haddaway’s song “What is Love” is sometimes unanswerable.

As the U.S. evolves amidst a rapidly changing world, many Americans, led by Donald Trump, pine for the good old days. And “What is Love” inspires a similar question when mulling ongoing, and more recent, events in America: What is patriotism?

The question of patriotism is relevant as our sensibilities are confronted with acts so egregious normalcy appears to be on life-support.

The NFL goes all in

Dubbed by some of its players and fans the No Fun League, the NFL, despite overwhelming evidence it’s America’s most popular sport, is also painfully behind the times. Socially and trend-wise, the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell behave like unenlightened Trump supporters while, for example, the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver are modern and progressive, like Barrack Obama.

The most recent example of this occurred last week, when the NFL announced a new national anthem policy which prohibits players from sitting or taking a knee during the national anthem. Players do have the option of remaining in the locker room while the anthem is played.

Approved unanimously by NFL team owners (San Francisco owner Jed York says he abstained), the new policy is part of the league’s official operations rules and therefore out of the purview of the NFL Players Association. In other words, the anthem policy is shielded from the player’s collective bargaining efforts.

“To make a decision that strong, you would hope that the players have input on it,” Cleveland Browns quarterback Tyrod Taylor said.

NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith tweeted, “Today the CEO’s of the NFL created a rule that people who hate autocracies should reject. The sad irony of this rule is that anyone who wants to express their patriotism is subject to the whim of a person who calls himself an ‘Owner.’”

What started as a one-man protest in the fall of 2016 mushroomed to the point that Trump, himself the most unpatriotic president in U.S. history, began stoking his base. Trump infamously said at a rally last fall in Alabama, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out. He’s fired. He’s fired!”

In a tweet, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long said the new policy is about the league and owner’s concern over a “diminished bottom line” and worry that Trump will turn his supporters against the NFL. “This is not patriotism. Don’t get it confused,” tweeted Long.

Which brings us back to, what is patriotism?

NFL Commissioner Goodell said, “We want people to be respectful of the national anthem.”

OK, is it patriotic for players to remain in the locker room during the anthem? Is it patriotic for concession stands to continue selling beer and hot dogs while the anthem is played? Is it patriotic for fans to be in the stadium concourse laughing it up during the anthem? What about the cameraman circling around the artist who sings the national anthem? Shouldn’t the cameraman be standing at attention?

What about those watching on TV? Does anybody stand up during the anthem when they are watching the game at home or in a sports bar? Does every American display the flag on Memorial Day? (On my block, only three houses hung the American Flag on Memorial Day.)

What is patriotism?

Is it bad cops unjustly killing other Americans with no consequences? Is it a manager at Starbucks profiling black customers and calling the police on them, resulting in their arrest for the ‘crime’ of just sitting in Starbucks? Is patriotism a Yale grad student calling the police on a fellow grad student for taking a nap in the study area of the dorm they both live in?

Is patriotism the president of the United States, and his administration, concocting one of the greatest lies of all time, resulting in war in Iraq, costing thousands of American lives, hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi lives, and trillions of U.S. dollars?

Is patriotism a man speaking up for those without a platform and losing his livelihood?

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” said Colin Kaepernick at the start of his protest. “It would be selfish on my part to look the other way.” That my fellow Americans, is patriotism.

Kaepernick’s protest started on social media, in the fall of 2016, on Instagram. Next, he decided to sit on the bench during the national anthem.

An ex-Green Beret, named Nate Boyer, was offended by Kaepernick’s actions and eventually the two men met. Boyer recommended Kaepernick do what Green Beret’s do when honoring a fallen brother at his gravesite; take a knee, as Boyer put it, “to show respect.”

The way Kaepernick and Boyer talked this out, with the result of their communication being Kaepernick agreeing with Boyer, is anathema to many Americans and how they deal with each other nowadays. Due to intolerance and ignorance, which is on vivid display every day in Congress, the White House and throughout the Trump administration, it’s no surprise we are where we are as a country, edging closer to the point of no return.

What is patriotism? Robert Mueller’s team, and the Department of Justice, searching for answers related to Americans possibly colluding with Russia to interfere with our election is patriotism. Mueller investigating whether the president of the United States is a justice-obstructing traitor is also patriotic.

What’s not patriotic are the lies and spin coming from Trump, Sarah Huckebee-Sanders, and Rudy Giuliani. What’s not patriotic is congressional Republicans like Bob Corker, Paul Ryan (is there a bigger wimp on Earth?), Mitch McConnell and the whole lot of them standing by, while the country they profess to love resembles an autocracy.

Do not overreact to athletes exercising their constitutional First Amendment right to take a knee during the national anthem. The poison, as it relates to unpatriotic disrespect for the national anthem, the American flag, and the U.S. Constitution, emanates from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the nation’s capital.

Roseanne and ABC

Channing Dungey, president of ABC Entertainment, and her bosses, including Disney chief Robert Iger, did the right thing when they immediately fired Roseanne Barr for her racist tweet.

Next, Disney should fire Ms. Dungey, and whoever else at ABC participated in the decision to bring Roseanne’s show back. Hiring a vile person like Roseanne in the first place, done out of pure greed, cannot be excused, and was itself an unpatriotic act (rewarding a flunky who doesn’t embody American values).

Roseanne has an easy-to-discover track record of racism, anti-Semitism, circulating disproven conspiracy theories, and cozying up to Trump and his embrace of white nationalists. She’s been an open book for years, with a big mouth and lack of self-control. (Only a high-velocity ignorant fool would be given the opportunity she was given by ABC and turn around and blow it so quickly.)

Her excuse, that Ambien caused her to compose and hit the send button on her racist tweet is pathetic. The manufacturer of Ambien, Sanofi, responded swiftly and succinctly saying in part: “Racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.”

Amazingly, the Fox News affiliate in Chicago, WFLD, broadcast a segment that appeared to offer Roseanne the excuse of Ambien. The Fox-32 lunchtime news anchor even interviewed a doctor from Rush-Presbyterian hospital who discussed the side-effects of Ambien. It was all so convenient for Roseanne. (Trust me, if Mike Tyson was in this predicament, no news outlet would help him out with a story about the side effects of Ambien.)

And since Roseanne has a penchant for comparing people to animals, don’t forget her blasphemous singing of the national anthem that sounded like a wounded animal. If nothing else, it was unpatriotic for Roseanne to laugh and shriek her way through singing the anthem.

What is patriotism? America better discover the real meaning, real soon. Otherwise, the acceptance of fake news and faux patriotism, by an ignorant and sizable portion of the populace, will accelerate our democracy’s circling of the drain.

Douglas FreelandMay 31, 2018