The Real Reason NFL Players Are Taking a Knee

Two things. Vice President Pence left an NFL game last Sunday because some players took a knee at the playing of the National Anthem. He said they were disrespecting the American flag.

Second, Dallas Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones has now said his players will all stand at the playing of the National anthem or else they can’t play. He said his players will respect the flag.

Okay, I get this obsession with the flag, which is only a symbol. I’ve written about both the absurdity and the danger of worshipping a symbol of freedom while denying people human and equal rights.

Pence and Jones are playing to the worst fears and prejudices in people. To deny professional football players, or anyone else, the right to express their disappointment and their disapproval of how certain police officers and police forces are mistreating, often outright killing, unarmed suspects, especially black men, ought to bother all Americans.

Power and money do not give anyone the right to silence protest of any kind in this country. The National Anthem protest is not about the flag, the military, or any other such thing. It is solely and entirely about a nation that blinks, looks the other way, ignores or condones police brutality and murder. Primarily brutality against and the murdering of unarmed black suspects who are judged, tried, and executed in the streets by aggressive and frightened cops who are never held accountable for their actions.

The Vice President, Jerry Jones, and other high-profile individuals in this country disgrace and abuse the considerable influence they have by shaming or threatening those who choose to exercise their Constitutional and American right to protest.

The flag and the anthem hold a lot of significance to a lot of people, and as I have written before, many want to tie them to religion and church and God. Incorrectly, I believe.

This protest is a silent, and I believe, responsible way to say to anyone watching, “I am disappointed in my country and its leaders. My country is letting me down. I’m a man of color and I feel threatened in my own country by aggressive and fearful police and a justice system that seems not to care about me and my family at all.” That, is the protest.

I do not have power or wealth and my voice counts for little, but I fully and without hesitation support the NFL players who are taking a courageous stand against police brutality and the irresponsible deaths of unarmed suspects who, until proven guilty, still remain innocent in this troubled and chaotic country.

Let's stop reframing the issue. It's not about the flag or the National Anthem. It's about the injustice in the country those symbols represent.

If I had five minutes to evacuate--what would I take with me?

If I was told there was a bomb in my building and I had five minutes to evacuate my apartment I’d grab a grocery bag and quickly toss these items into it: 1. A photo of my grandparents, Mom and Pop and me, when I was 15 years old. I learned what love is made of from them. I learned what it is to be kissed on and hugged in arms so tender they felt like God’s arms. I discovered self worth from those two angels in human flesh. Of all the people in my life, they were the ones who made me feel I counted. Honestly, whatever capacity I have to love others came from them. 2. A sentimental, dog-eared, stars in the margin copy of Pat Conroy’s, “The Prince of Tides.” It is a book I have read three times and often return to for its wisdom. It is a harsh, profoundly tragic novel, the story of a family so broken and tortured by such flawed and wounded people that it is sometimes difficult to turn the next page. And yet it is the story of such Herculean courage and endurance that you want...

I Saw the Delicacy of Life

I was flying Across the deep And I saw the delicacy Of life Wrinkles on the faces Of the old So pure they glistened Like awards The joy of children Running with abandon Their laughter ringing Like chimes in the wind I saw the soft moving waves Across the sea And the trees releasing Their rainbow leaves Birds joined me on my flight And I saw the surface of their wings Adorned with patterns Glorious and unfurled I saw the tears of the sad And the smiles of the glad The suffering in mourning And the celebration of birth As I descended toward the ground Slowly, slowly, softly I saw the gentle grass of the field And smelled the fresh earth It was a perfect landing © 2018 Timothy Moody

Actions Make a Difference

“We make progress in society only if we stop cursing and complaining about its shortcomings and have the courage to do something about them.” ~ Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Physician/Author Pictured here is Kikuko Shinjo, 89 years old, a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bomb blast. As a 17-year old nursing student she helped nurse victims of the carnage back to health. Many of them died in her care. She says she holds no grudge against America and encourages interaction between the Japanese and Americans. She has devoted her life to peace, saying, “I want all the people around the world to be friends, and I want to make my country peaceful without fighting.” Today she makes colorful paper cranes and donates them to the Children’s Peace Monument at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

The Unclad Soul

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