Hot Takes with Hinners

While most folks will be talking about Middle Tennessee’s incredible comeback (and it was incredible) against conference foe Louisiana Tech this past weekend, something else has been going on around college campuses across the country that stuck out to me as being even more incredible.

This year, we’ve seen peaceful anthem protests during the first couple weeks of the NFL season and in other professional sport settings. And now, we’ve seen those same protests begin to stretch to college campuses.

Students, athletes and band members alike, decided to peacefully protest during the playing of the national anthem before the games this past week. Examples stretched far and wide as people from schools such as North Carolina and Baylor sat, kneeled, or raised a fist during the anthem. Quite a few Michigan players raised their fists on the sideline as well. A handful of SMU band members even took a knee as they played the national anthem before the Mustangs took on TCU.

All of these protests were done in the name of civil equality and justice for all.

And while these protests have struck many chords with many different people, they left one feeling in my gut.

Pride - A sense of pride I cannot explain. You see, I helped make sure they had the freedom to do that.

As I mentioned last week, I’m a Veteran of this great nation. When I was 23 I enlisted in the United States Navy. I served four years under that branch and during my time, I was deployed multiple times in the Mediterranean as well as Central America. So, you could say that the nation, the flag, and everything about it, holds a special place in my heart.

Every weekend I sit down on Saturday and Sunday and just take in as much football as I possibly can. I’m also a patriot and love the United State of America. This weekend, these two worlds collided for me in a way that almost brought me to tears. It was moving, and in my opinion, it was brilliant.

Set aside, for a minute, your thoughts on the issues that are being protested. Set aside any blind loyalty you may have to a song, a flag, country or political party. Let’s just concentrate on the act itself. The act of protesting.

How incredible is it that we, every single one of us, live in a country where we can freely assemble and show our support for or against almost anything? Not only can we do this, but we can do this without fear of any governmental backlash. Free to protest issues as small as Cuban cigars to as large as race relations in this country. On college campuses, students are free to protest anything from the prices of soft drinks to the actions of a university President. This is something that you cannot just do anywhere in the world. Trust me, I’ve seen the inability first hand.

Now, I see a lot of things in the news and on social media that say protests this weekend and in past weeks are disrespectful to the troops. The protestors are painted to be anti-military, or even anti-American.

What?!?

To this former Sailor, that does not even make logical sense. We have freedoms and rights because our troops actively work to keep them that way. Men and women fight and die every day to ensure these protestors can do just that. So, couldn’t I make the argument that practicing one’s rights to protest is the most American thing someone could do?

The national anthem, the American flag, and the troops are not all one in the same. The anthem did not even become the anthem until 1931. Was America unpatriotic before then? The flag flies at almost every event and government building you can think of. People have American flags that fly right next to their collegiate or professional sports team. Yet, how many times do you see the flag flying in the rain even though it shouldn’t be? But the troops, they’re above it all. It’s the troops that keep the anthem playing and keep the flag waving. It’s the troops that bring to life the rights and freedoms that otherwise would just be words on a piece of paper.

For this Veteran, and many others I know, exercising your rights is one the greatest ways you can honor those who have fought and continue to fight, as well as those who gave everything.

I love this country, I love my brothers and sisters in arms, and I love seeing the sacrifices of so many mean something so important.