Yesterday was National “Forgot to Tie Your Shoes” Day, or so it would appear with so many people kneeling during the National Anthem for NFL Sunday.
I remember a day when, as a kid, I would look up to athletes. I didn’t look up to them because of their political views, or protesting movements, or bickering because they weren’t paid enough, but because they promoted teamwork, perseverance, and athletic might. But even more importantly, because they represented my hometown, where they’d travel all across the nation and battle against other teams on my behalf in hopes to bring home the glory of victory to my little nook of the country.
It’s an interesting parallel that has me, as an adult, in great admiration of our armed forces, who travel all across the world to battle, and often die, on my behalf to secure the freedom I have to turn on the TV Sunday afternoon to watch my favorite football team play, without fear of whether those freedoms, or my own life, will be there for me tomorrow.
The defining difference between these two groups is: one gets paid millions to take a knee in protest against an imperfect country, while the other gets paid little to take a knee to thank God they could live to fight another day to defend and make their country more perfect.
I am in neither of these groups, but if there’s one thing these athletes have taught me this weekend it is this: Turn off the TV on Sundays, and take a knee every day for God to watch over the armed forces who may not make it to next Sunday’s big game, because those men and women have prioritized to defend you and me so we can strive for a more perfect union.
Merica.
