Showing Patriotism, Voluntarily

AMERICAN FOOTBALL is a more violent form of English rugby, which is properly called rugby football, as opposed to association football, which the English once upon a time called "soccer", but no longer do. The fact that Americans still call association football "soccer" seems to rankle the Brits a bit. The fact that American call American football football rankles them with equal ardor. The English are not alone in generating rancorous responses where rancor hardly seems necessary. We Americans, able to tolerate an epidemic of head and helmet-tackling concussions which lead to dementia and early death, able to tolerate widespread domestic violence among American football players leading to battered women and broken families, are unable to tolerate the kneeling during the national anthem which at times is done by African-Americans. My, what a patriotic lot we are! Everyone knows that when players kneel while others stand during the national anthem, they are not disrespecting flag, anthem, country, or anything else. Everyone knows that the kneeling is a protest against a cultural characteristic of America; racism and violence. Since protesting in private is ineffective, people who protest injustice prefer doing it in public, thus calling as much attention as possible to the cause of justice. The fact that the votaries of several religions do not stand during the anthem nor celebrate holidays escapes censure, since this is done in service to the lord, rather than social justice. Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys American football team, is especially patriotic. So much so that not only does he use threats of unemployment to compel his employees to stand during the anthem, he goes so far as to have a recording of the national anthem played before each Dallas Cowboy's preseason practice. You can never have too much of a good patriotic display, it would seem. Jones stood on the field before a recent practice while the anthem was issuing forth, and conversed with his son, while his hat remained atop his patriotic head. Reminded by his son that the hat should be doffed in patriotic respect, Jones ignored the admonition, and left it perched. Jones has not yet fired himself. Patriotism is required for the masses, but optional for the elite, it would seem.