I do not think kneeling during the Pledge of Allegiance implies disrespect to the military, nor do I believe it means disrespect to our great country. It is certainly not intended to mean that by me, though many people have chosen to see it that way.
Our country has been working hard for over 200 years to fulfill the promise of the Declaration of Independence. It took almost 100 years for the heinous institution of slavery to end, and nearly 150 years for women to gain suffrage. We have made great progress.
Enfranchisement, however, is only a step. The Pledge of Allegiance reminds us of the promise of “liberty and justice for all.” The number of unarmed African-Americans all too frequently shot and killed by police tells me that that community does not have equal access to liberty or justice.
As a school board member and teacher, I know that we can predict, with all too great a confidence, a baby’s high school test score simply by knowing its race. That is neither liberty nor justice.
Finally, if I began this, I might not have chosen to express my views as Kaepernick has. I maybe would have worn a ribbon or patch. However, this is the direction he chose and it’s his American right. Many have pushed back (which is their right) at the views he has, and the way he chose to express them. That, to me, is the biggest issue here. I fear that freedom of speech is at risk.
It is out of complete respect and love for our wonderful country that I kneel. Our founders made the world a promise of equality and freedom. I kneel in direct, passionate support of those ideals. I kneel to call attention to a situation where human beings are not secure in their “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.” And, I kneel to be able to have conversations like these, to make sure we remember that the fundamental building block of our freedom is the right to free speech.
By talking about difficult issues as a nation, we begin to solve them, and realize, with more fidelity, the vision of our founders.
Craig Foster
School board member