Disagreeing in a Civil and Thoughtful Way
Now that the entire Seattle Seahawks football team and all but one of the Kansas City Chiefs players have joined San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protest, I think it’s time to take a second look at his act of conscience.
Clearly, Kaepernick’s refusal to stand while the national anthem is being played pushes more than people’s buttons. For many of my Laguna friends, it goes to the heart of what they believe it means to be an American. I wonder how they would react if any LBHS football player sat down or took a knee like the 49er QB has (which, of course, is his Constitutional right).
As a sixty-something father of three who has participated in numerous protests, I know taking an unpopular stand (no pun intended) often comes at great personal expense.
With these thoughts in mind, here’s how my discussion with Eileen Padberg, one of Orange County’s most experienced political consultants, recently played out on Facebook. The way I look at it, our exchange proves that two people with opposite points of view still can have a civil and thoughtful conversation.
“I never encouraged protesters to burn the American flag during the Vietnam War,” I wrote. “Those who did often times were beaten by onlookers or jailed by local police. Thankfully, the Supreme Court has ruled on this issue.”
I then added, “It strikes me that the uproar over Kaepernick’s refusal to stand during the national anthem is a 2016 version of what we lived through in the 1960s. Back then, there were shouts of ‘Love it or leave it.’ Unfortunately, I’ve heard similar things being said coast to coast.”
“If Kaepernick cared so much about the plight of others, he should contribute some of his huge salary to help educate young men and women,” Eileen responded.
“And be an advocate working with law enforcement on procedures for dealing with people that they believe are bad guys. His way of protesting won’t change one thing. It’s not brave or courageous — it’s a worthless attempt at change,” she added.
“Eileen, you’ve made an assumption Kaepernick hasn’t donated money to help young men and women. How do you know he hasn’t?” I asked.
(As it turns out, Kaepernick recently announced he will be donating $1 million to local charities.)
“I’m guessing people said the same thing when the lunch counter sit-ins were taking place in the Deep South in the 1950s. I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t determine the outcome of Kaepernick’s protest like you have,” I continued.
“I don’t have a crystal ball either,” she replied. “Is he in it for the attention or to influence change?” she wanted to know.
“I just don’t see how his sitting down during the playing of the national anthem is going to amount to anything worthwhile. In fact, it may prove to be his undoing in the NFL. Then what?” Eileen asked.
I looked at Eileen’s comment for a moment and then responded, “Standing up, or sitting down, for a principle one cares about deeply takes an enormous amount of courage. Allowing a person to peacefully express him or herself — when it is 110% opposite of what you believe — is the glue that holds together our great nation. Standing or sitting, we all need to respect each other’s point of view.”
“On that last point, we agree,” Eileen assured me. “I have stood up for many things to make a point, but always followed it up by actually doing something that affected change.”
“If Kaepernick has given money, then he should give more. I just wish he had protested some other way. It was wrong for him not to have stood with his teammates,” she concluded.
I’ve always admired Eileen for speaking her mind. She’s one of those rare people who backs up her talk with action. I’m glad we could agree to disagree in a civil and thoughtful way.
Thanks, Facebook, for helping to make this possible.
Denny Freidenrich lives in Laguna Beach. He can be reached @freidomreport.
