Imagine that you are a
firefighter. You and your crew have been fighting a relatively small
fire- small, but dangerous and very threatening, nonetheless. You all
worked very hard to the point of almost having the fire completely
out, with only a few smoldering embers remaining. All of a sudden,
without warning, a huge sustained gust of wind comes along and blows
away some of the ashes and soot, and breathes new life into the fire
with you have worked so hard to extinguish. The remaining fuel erupts
into a blaze, and now you and your tired crew set about, again, to
fight the conflagration.
Having to once again fight a fire which was nearly extinguished would probably frustrate you and anger you, would it not? This is but a metaphor for the current situation in our country regarding professional football and one Donald J. Trump. Unless you've been living way off the grid, you probably know that a few professional football players, over these last two seasons, have decided to not stand for the National Anthem at the beginning of ballgames. Fans took sides, some continued watching while others chose to boycott professional football, one season passed, a new season had come around, and things had actually started to calm down- that is, until Donald J. trump decided it would be fitting to blow some hot air onto the smoldering fire. Now instead of the occasional flickering flame and a few smoldering chunks of what was once part of our collective sanity, the entire country is once again up in flames over one the stupidest, most selfishly asinine notions ever advocated for during our lifetimes, that protesting the one thing that is supposed to bind us together as fellow countrymen will suddenly bring us all together in perfect equality and freedom.
The one thing that is supposed to bind us all together, really, is that we are all Americans, that we all live together in the most prosperous country the world has ever known, that we all are born with the opportunity to take what we are given and make ourselves better people, individually, and a better country, collectively. Both the NFL and its interests, as well as President Donald J. Trump and his interests, have shown that neither of them have any real interest in what is best for all Americans. Each individual involved cares nothing about the average, regular everyday American, nor do they care about the outliers among us nor anyone in between the middle and the extremes. They surely do not care about this country and the ideals upon which it was founded, that all men are created equal and have the opportunity to pursue their own life, liberty, and happiness, regardless of the station in life into which they were born. Our Founding Fathers provided us with a well-thought out paradigm upon which we could build a nation that emphasizes and encourages personal liberty, while also considering the respect for the rule of law, respect for the rights of everyone, and respect for that which binds us together as Americans. Just as things were starting to settle down, Donald Trump gave the anti-American protests the air they needed to flare-up again.
How would a conservative president have handled a situation such as the one with the NFL-player protests? That is a good question to ask and upon which to ponder. I would like to presume that a truly conservative president would have kindly addressed the players grievances, and perhaps invited some of them to the White House to discuss their concerns, rather than verbally attacking them at a campaign rally or fundraiser. I also wonder how a conservative NFL commissioner would have handled the protests, but I can merely speculate on this, as well. Perhaps, a conservative NFL commissioner would have kindly addressed this and done what he could to put a stop to it before it got out of hand. Like I said, one can merely speculate. Meanwhile, our country is in the middle of a cold civil war, and both sides are doing their darnedest to stoke the coals that are burning under the surface of our national identity, threatening what remains of our American unity.
Having to once again fight a fire which was nearly extinguished would probably frustrate you and anger you, would it not? This is but a metaphor for the current situation in our country regarding professional football and one Donald J. Trump. Unless you've been living way off the grid, you probably know that a few professional football players, over these last two seasons, have decided to not stand for the National Anthem at the beginning of ballgames. Fans took sides, some continued watching while others chose to boycott professional football, one season passed, a new season had come around, and things had actually started to calm down- that is, until Donald J. trump decided it would be fitting to blow some hot air onto the smoldering fire. Now instead of the occasional flickering flame and a few smoldering chunks of what was once part of our collective sanity, the entire country is once again up in flames over one the stupidest, most selfishly asinine notions ever advocated for during our lifetimes, that protesting the one thing that is supposed to bind us together as fellow countrymen will suddenly bring us all together in perfect equality and freedom.
The one thing that is supposed to bind us all together, really, is that we are all Americans, that we all live together in the most prosperous country the world has ever known, that we all are born with the opportunity to take what we are given and make ourselves better people, individually, and a better country, collectively. Both the NFL and its interests, as well as President Donald J. Trump and his interests, have shown that neither of them have any real interest in what is best for all Americans. Each individual involved cares nothing about the average, regular everyday American, nor do they care about the outliers among us nor anyone in between the middle and the extremes. They surely do not care about this country and the ideals upon which it was founded, that all men are created equal and have the opportunity to pursue their own life, liberty, and happiness, regardless of the station in life into which they were born. Our Founding Fathers provided us with a well-thought out paradigm upon which we could build a nation that emphasizes and encourages personal liberty, while also considering the respect for the rule of law, respect for the rights of everyone, and respect for that which binds us together as Americans. Just as things were starting to settle down, Donald Trump gave the anti-American protests the air they needed to flare-up again.
How would a conservative president have handled a situation such as the one with the NFL-player protests? That is a good question to ask and upon which to ponder. I would like to presume that a truly conservative president would have kindly addressed the players grievances, and perhaps invited some of them to the White House to discuss their concerns, rather than verbally attacking them at a campaign rally or fundraiser. I also wonder how a conservative NFL commissioner would have handled the protests, but I can merely speculate on this, as well. Perhaps, a conservative NFL commissioner would have kindly addressed this and done what he could to put a stop to it before it got out of hand. Like I said, one can merely speculate. Meanwhile, our country is in the middle of a cold civil war, and both sides are doing their darnedest to stoke the coals that are burning under the surface of our national identity, threatening what remains of our American unity.
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