Thomas Jefferson came to me in a dream last night, imploring me to buy a ticket for an NFL football game. He told me to jump down on the field during the national anthem, fall to both knees, bow my head with both hands clasped tightly together and fervently pray to God for our country to turn from her wicked ways and to heal our land.
Shocked and taken somewhat aback by his
request, I guardedly asked President Jefferson if he was coming to me from
Heaven or Hell. My whole heart agrees
with his inspiring words, “We hold these truths
to be self-evident, that all men
are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,” but I’m somewhat troubled by what he
wrote to his nephew Peter Carr, in 1787; "Question with boldness even the
existence of a god;” Dream Jefferson’s reply was pointedly simple; “Should I
compel you to conform to my beliefs, or you to direct mine, when God himself
leaves it to us to freely choose.”
Moving on, I asked a
more practical question, “Do you realize what will happen to me if I honor your
request?” Some will praise me for kneeling
during the anthem, but soundly criticize me for having the audacity to pray in
public. The extreme might even call for
me to be thrown in a lion’s den or fiery furnace. Others would condemn me as unpatriotic and
demand I leave the country for kneeling, but still post my picture alongside
Tim Tebow for displaying my faith. Aside
from criticism, there would be a more tangible cost for my action. An
arrest would likely result in the suspension of my security clearance and loss
of my job. Before deciding, I awoke to the
smell of coffee, and the sound of my sweet wife singing Korean hymns and moving
furniture.
Retreating from the upheaval of “Furniture
Moving Day” with a steaming cup of coffee to a quiet room, I browsed Facebook
until a post from a fine Air Force Captain eerily requesting “dialogue and *civil* discourse” on the very subject of my dream motivated me to exercise my constitutional
right of free speech.
As a military veteran
and current civil servant, I have voluntarily accepted restrictions on my liberties,
not out of blind nationalism, but from a sincere belief in the ideals our
country was founded on and the freedoms we currently enjoy. I took an oath to defend those freedoms and
pray for the courage to keep my promise.
When the national anthem plays, I silently stand with my hand over my
heart and show due respect to our flag.
Conversely, I’m deeply offended when others exercising their freedom to
dissent is deemed an affront to my service.
Every prayer uttered, speech freely given, or assembly peacefully
gathered honors my service regardless of whether I agree with the content or
not. Our military mirrors society, with
a wide range of beliefs and opinions, and to imply we always stand together is
wrong. No one has the right to hack my
voice or the views of those I serve alongside.
These thoughts are not something I’ve just come up with this morning. I’ve pondered them for many years.
Several decades ago, while attending a
military leadership course, I was given an unwelcome debate assignment to
defend flag burning. Fortunately, I
never had to stand before an unfriendly audience as another subject was
selected for the in-class debate.
However, the basic premise of the argument I was going to make, “Opportunity
Cost” still influences the beliefs I hold today.
Opportunity cost is
an economics term that refers to the value of what you have to give up in order
to choose something else. To
better explain the concept, take a few moments and make a list of everything
important in your home. If your house
was on fire and you could only escape with the first item on your list, the
opportunity cost of your choice is the loss of everything else. While my
retirement flag holds significant sentimental value to me, I wouldn’t think
twice about saving my dog over it. A
flag can easily be replaced. Today I’m
asking you to make another list, including the flag and national anthem. In our virtual fire, you’ll be able to keep both
the flag/anthem and everything listed above.
Everything below them will be lost forever. While I’m still struggling with where to
place family and self, this is my example list:
- Freedom of Religion
- Freedom of Speech
- Freedom of Assembly
- Democratic Elections
- Freedom of the Press
- Due Process
- Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures
- 2nd Amendment Right to Bear Arms
- Separation of Powers between Executive, Legislative, Judicial branches
- 25th Amendment
- Family
- Life (Self)
- Liberty
- Pursuit of Happiness
- Property rights
- Flag
- Anthem
- Pledge of Allegiance
- 18th Amendment
- Possessions
The flag and anthem
are merely symbols representing our priceless rights and values and in themselves
have nominal value in comparison to what they truly epitomize. It’s tremendously ironic that allowing our
flag to be burned diminishes none of the freedoms it represents, while
preventing its destruction (or obligating patriotism) weakens the very freedoms
countless patriots have died to defend. If compelled by unconstitutional law, intimidation,
or force to honor men or idols, we should neither stand nor kneel. We should turn our backs.
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