I have read Taya Kyle’s statement in response to the new Nike ad campaign with Colin Kaepernick. It is eloquent.
She is entitled to her opinion. I disagree with her.
First–much of the premise of her opinion is based on the racist fallacy that Colin Kapernick or other NFL players are protesting or disrespecting the flag itself, or the national anthem, or the military. That is wrong at face value, so it diminishes the credibility I give her opinion right off the bat. She is still entitled to it–but I don’t respect it.
Second–I don’t idolize and deify the military the way many do. There is certainly some degree of nobility in voluntarily swearing an oath to defend the Constitution even if it means your own death. The vast majority of those who serve, however, are not there out of a sense of honor or duty and don’t honestly believe their lives will ever be threatened. Most are there because they had few–if any–other options, and it’s a way to learn some skills and get money for college. I had other options–but I joined the military primarily to do something different and see the world. I am proud of my service, but I am also honest enough to know that it wasn’t heroic or noble in and of itself.
It is a marketing campaign. Is Ford the “Best in Texas”? Does Red Bull “give you wings”? Is there really NO substitute for a Porsche? Is being a fascist white supremacist who alienates allies and kisses the boots of enemies really making America great again? Objectively, these are all false claims made in marketing slogans.
Did Kaepernick sacrifice “everything”? Perhaps not. That is both a subjective and a semantic argument and one that I can’t make because I am not Colin Kaepernick. Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and countless others sacrificed their lives–and they weren’t even believing in or standing for anything. They were just trying to exist.
I served my country. I did not join to be a hero. I did not sign up out of a sense of honor. However, I am proud of my time in the military because—regardless of my intentions in joining—I did, in fact, swear an oath to defend the Constitution and what it stands for. To me, that includes protecting the rights conveyed by the Constitution for all Americans. That includes defending the right of Colin Kaepernick and NFL players to take a knee as a symbol of peaceful protest. Exercising the rights and freedoms the military fights and dies to defend is not disrespectful or un-American. It is the most respectful and most American thing you can do.
I support Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players who #TakeAKnee. That is just my opinion. Taya Kyle is welcome to hers. You are welcome to yours. Beto O’Rourke said it best, “Reasonable people can disagree on this issue…and it makes them no less American to come down on a different conclusion on this issue.”
