Douglas H. Ryder: Land of the false patriots

The continuing criticism of Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand during the singing of “The Star Spangled Banner” demonstrates clearly the hypocrisy of false patriots. They deny him his right to independent thought and action, while demanding his unquestioning respect for a song that extols our nation as the “land of the free.” But are we truly free?

Our prison population surpasses that of all others, and too many of our residents – disproportionately people of color – spend years in jail for nonviolent offenses, exercising their right to dissent, or simply being too poor to post bail.

An open-minded study of U.S. history demonstrates that our current world dominance has been built on the backs of the enslaved, the exploited and those robbed of their cultures when white European imperialists conquered their territories. And a thoughtful reading of our national anthem’s lyrics demonstrate it to be a crass glorification of war and empire-building. It celebrates the fact that our flag “yet waves,” as it did when the lyrics were penned in 1814, over once-sovereign territories that the U.S. conquered by military might.

As a U.S. combat veteran, I applaud Kaepernick’s courage in bringing this hypocrisy to the world’s attention.

This story was originally published September 13, 2016 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Douglas H. Ryder: Land of the false patriots."