Anthem

Ring the bells that still can ring,

Forget your perfect offering,

There is a crack, a crack, in everything,

That's how the light gets in.

-Leonard Cohen, Anthem

I would like to preface these observations with the statement that I respect our military, our police, our flag and I actually kind of like our national anthem (at least the two verses that are most commonly sung).  I also respect the people in this country who are brown and black and who have experienced racism, bigotry and injustice on many levels.  I also respect the Constitution of these United States of America which defines how a democratically governed nation should function according to the principles on which it was founded.

However, I am, before being American, a follower of Jesus, which also makes me a believer in the existence and sovereignty of a Triune God.  This God, whom I owe my allegiance and my very existence, has given humanity some very sane and comprehensible laws, some of which are reflected in our own secular laws.  The one which is not, and honestly cannot be reflected in any governmental system that claims to abide by the principle of the first amendment to our constitution: 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or of the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

As much as I think that is worth a place as the first statement in the Bill of Rights, it cannot actually replace in importance the First Law:

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in Heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  You shall not bow down to worship them; for I am a jealous God...  - Deuteronomy 5: 8-9

Or if you prefer the summary of all the Law that Jesus offered us (which I do):

Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." -Matthew 22: 37-39 

I fully endorse all the ideas represented above, and I try to live by all of them.  I believe that I must live as a child of God and a follower of Jesus, before I can hope to call myself a citizen of the United States or a patriot.  I understand that not everyone shares my theological and Christian convictions and I would not seek to impose them on anyone who was not searching for the way themselves.  I am not insisting that you agree with me, I am offering you the following observations concerning the kerfuffle involving the NFL, the National Anthem, black players and now, thanks to his ill advised and un-chastened use of the Twitter, our bellicose Commander in Chief.

1. As I have said before, a year ago, when Colin Kaepernick first took a lonely seat on the bench during the National Anthem, it is our privilege as free citizens of this nation to either stand or sit, pledge allegiance or not.  It is our right to express our disapproval with the government, through speech, reporting in the press, peaceable assembly and petition for redress of grievances.  These are the rights for which the flag stands and for which our military and veterans have fought and died.  Black people in this country have a long standing and currently urgent set of grievances for which they should be able to seek redress.  You do not have to agree with the NFL players who kneel during the anthem, but you should in no way be angry with them for doing so.  In fact, Colin adopted the kneel, which since became the standard, because it was more respectful than simply sitting on the bench, it allowed players to register a protest, while remaining on the line with their team and while not simply sulking in the background.  Registering protest against the system in this way is non-violent and respectful of those who choose not to protest.  Is it perfect? No, nothing ever is, but it meets all the criteria for a lawful and effective protest. The fact that the protest continues a year later, when Colin is no longer around is testament to its effectiveness.
2. Trump's tweet storm about how players that kneel during the anthem tiptoes up the line of actually violating the first amendment.  Granted his tweets are not acts of Congress (thank you sweet Jesus), but the decision by our highest elected official to suggest that citizens exercising their free speech should be fired from their jobs, when doing so does not in any way detract from their performance of said jobs is pretty out of line. I was never worried that these players would be fired, and I am not playing a lament for the poor vulnerable football players (I'll save that for when I write a blog about concussions).  I am saying that our President needs to have more respect and understanding when it comes to the rights and privileges of being an American.  He was the one dishonoring our flag and those who defend it by blatantly and needlessly despising rights honored in the First Amendment. The NFL as a whole, not an organization known for its upright and blameless conduct, actually played this one pretty well and stood together against such an insult.
3. This is perhaps the most challenging of my three observations and the one that does not universally apply to every American Citizen: I am pretty sure that our reactions to this situation belie a very troublesome form of idolatry.  The reason why I believe that God has always despised idols is actually not because "God is a jealous God," as it says in the law.  Though I certainly don't discount that God is offended by our idolatry and that it is sin.  The reason for most of the Laws is rooted in our Creator's loving knowledge of what is good for us.  Idols, in their many forms, are some of the most damaging spiritual parasites.  They take, but do not give, they demand ever greater sacrifices and never deliver anything but coincidental benefit. The greater the magnitude and scope of a particular idol, the greater damage it can do (mammon/money is perhaps the most harmful).  National pride is essentially a form of tribalism, which at a core level is not a bad thing. As long as it is anchored by the great commandments of Christ, it can be beneficial and noble: Love God (above all else) and love your neighbor as yourself.  If  you prioritize those two commandments you will be a good citizen of whatever nation or tribe you inhabit.  I believe that when we become angry at black players for kneeling during the anthem or refusing to salute the flag, we are prioritizing the symbols of our nation over the values of our nation and thus we are committing idolatry.  The values of our nation protect our right to love God and one another and thus be both Americans and Christians or Jews or Muslims or Atheists at the same time.  When we deny someone the right to protest a symbol or a song we are surrendering that right to an idol and we are walking the road to fascism. How twisted is it to deny someone the right to exercise the rights put forth in the first amendment in the name of patriotism?  The kind of twisted that can only come from idolatry.

As it turns out this "more perfect union" thing is quite a thing to chew on, we've only been at for a couple hundred years.  We've been trying to digest the Law for thousands.  I'm glad God is patient.