The Nationalist Case For Foregoing the National Anthem Before Sporting Events
Hear me out, fellow Americans.
Gabe Kapler, manager of the San Francisco Giants baseball club, said in response to the Uvalde school massacre which killed 21:
My first reaction to this was much the same as that of many of you: here we go again.
Bottom line up front: I don’t favor Kapler or anyone using the playing of the National Anthem as an opportunity to air grievances against the country. Personally, I find it a very small inconvenience to take part in honoring the United States and, whether people want to admit it or not, it’s still a privilege to live in this country, even as it enters a period of downward spiraling crisis. Most Americans simply don’t appreciate how good we still have it here versus any other country in the world. If America were such a terrible place to be, why are millions willing to break the law and risk their lives in order to enter and remain in this country? The self-loathing among a significant percentage of those who live here makes no sense, even as they insist the whole world is entitled to come and plant their flags and seeds here. Or maybe the displacement is the point?
Moreover, it’s interesting what influenced Kapler to sit out the National Anthem versus what didn’t. The Uvalde school massacre is undeniably horrific, but why did an incident that took roughly the same distance away as France is from Ukraine galvanize Kapler, while the daily happenings in his own city apparently are of no concern to him?
San Francisco has become utterly unlivable in many ways, the result of trends whose origins go back many years. Is Kapler aware of what the city has become? Maybe he ought to be more concerned about the state of San Francisco and seek ways of feeling better about the direction of his city? I just don’t get how people, especially of the privileged class, see Uvalde as a damning indictment of the entire nation, but the condition of San Francisco or California is something only a reactionary would concern themselves with.
However, given he feels the way he does, I think Kapler is handling this better than, say, Colin Kaepernick. By not coming out for the anthem, he’s removing himself from the scene and allowing those who do want to participate to do so without distraction or any sense of division among their teammates. I’ll give the Giants manager a little credit for taking the route that he did, while emphasizing that no, practicing free speech, important as it is, doesn’t make you patriotic. How you feel about your country does.
Which brings me to something that’s been on my mind for many years: why does America play the “Star-Spangled Banner” before every sporting event at all levels? Is it really necessary? And, within the context of the conversation, has it come to be weaponized against the very country it was supposed to honor?
Before addressing these questions, it’s important to note the controversy over the National Anthem isn’t something unique to the U.S. Other countries, including those seemingly more nationalistic and patriotic than our own, have constantly debate what’s considered to be appropriate displays of love for country and where it might cross the line. It’s a loaded conversation, saddled with history people may not necessarily be proud of. There’s no perfect way to honor one’s country, but hard feelings mean the conversation vacillates between the reactionary nationalism represented by, say, “MAGA” and “Trumpism,” versus the sort of free-for-all, “protest-is-patriotism” mentality represented by Kapler and Kaepernick. I’m not in favor of the latter, but the former isn’t exactly any kind of fix, either.
As much as I dislike disrespect to the country, I also dislike this sort of reflexiveness. Does Nick Adams really think MLB will be affected by his viewership? The sort of childishness in this sort of response serves to fuel the sentiments galvanizing the other side and deepens the divide, at the time when it doesn’t look like it could get any deeper.
Is there any way to reconcile the irreconcilable? Or does one side simply have to win the argument outright? It’s fair to say, as it stands (no pun intended), the Kaplers and Kaepernicks are winning the argument. Nationalism and patriotism are, themselves, loaded terms and Americans, with the exception of the nationalistic Heartlanders, haven’t always been certain just how much love for country is too much or too little. It gets to the heart of what it really means to love one’s country, the answer to which differs, depending on whom you ask.
Both sides can come up with excuses for their respective positions, but I’d like to offer a solution, one I believe can reconcile the irreconcilable: why not just quit playing the National Anthem before sporting events, altogether?
I know the more nationalistic and patriotic wing of my readership will bristle at this suggestion. After all, it’s basically conceding victory to the left-wing cultural Marxists, right? Eh… not necessarily. Hear me out, fellow Americans.
I can’t speak for other countries, but, in the U.S., the practice is tied directly to professional sports. It was during World War II that it began to become ritualized and it was in the wake of America emerging victorious from that war that it became an inseparable part of our culture. The ritual emerged as a reaction to the collective feeling of threat and became ingrained as a form of rememberance after the nation survived cataclysm.
Sometimes, however, anything that goes on for too long will eventually lose it's luster. The further away we moved from World War II and the more our country changed, the more the National Anthem became something we had to endure. Of course, all rituals have this aspect to them - you do it because, well, you’re just supposed to. I’m a strong believer that a culture and a society cannot survive without such seemingly mindless rituals, but this is also where problems arise.
Without a strong culture to backstop such rituals, they not only lose meaning, but can be perverted and subverted for other purposes. We’re seeing that unfold today - the playing of the National Anthem before all sporting events has been used as an opportunity to strike deep at the emotional heart of country. I don’t buy the “protest is patriotic” line for a minute. One can air their grievances any other hour of the day, but to kneel or sit out the anthem draws a stark line and silently screams: Our differences are irreconcilable.
Unfortunately, we’re stuck with these people. Fantasies and LARPs aside, unless we’re genuinely willing to fight this out, we’re going to have to find a way to live among those who simply don’t love the country like we do, at least not to the same degree we do. We don’t live in a perfect world and, even if we did, there would still be dissenting voices. It’s part of being human and differences need to be accommodated to a certain extent to live peacefully. An imperfect peace is always better than a perfect war.
Which is why I believe America should seriously consider not playing the National Anthem prior to sporting events as a matter of ritual. As I stated a few paragraphs above, the practice only means something in the context of a strong, unifying culture, which America doesn’t possess. The practice seems more hollow in the context of the fact Americans are, arguably, the least patriotic as they’ve ever been. A 2021 Gallup poll showed 69% of Americans are “extremely/very proud” to be Americans, a stark improvement from the dark days of 2020, but it was still the second-lowest mark recorded since the poll began in 2001.
More concerning is the generational divide. While younger Americans aren’t the America-hating bunch they’re often fashioned as being - half of the 18-34 year-old group are extremely/very proud to be Americans - they also possess more mixed feelings about the country than their older counterparts. We can’t blame them too much, honestly - after all, since 9/11, the U.S. has been in what seems to be a never-ending emergency. It’s the sort of thing that’d test anyone’s love for their country and it has certainly tested mine.
But I’m not writing this column to speculate why Americans are becoming increasingly less patriotic. I’m simply saying the love is fading and this fact needs to be acknowledged at some level. Even with so much patriotism still remaining in our society, it’s the unpatriotic who seem to constantly be winning the argument. Why’s that? Maybe it’s because even the patriotic aren’t willing to fight back? And if they’re not willing to fight back, what does it say about their patriotism? Is it even substantive? Or is it merely symbolic at this point?
Again, I won’t try to answer these questions here and now, but I’ll demonstrate how we can fight back - don’t dignify or honor their protest. By not playing the National Anthem, we remove what has become a forum for the Kaplers and Kaepernicks of the world to air their grievances in front of the world. These protests have power because they draw our attention and because they’re conducted before a captive audience. By removing that forum, it not only denies them the forum, but it also serves as a test of conviction of their part - if they truly believe in their cause, they’ll do whatever necessary to wage their battle, off the field, if needed. They don’t need anyone to provide the opportunity and outlet for them.
Still not convinced? Look at what happened in 2016, when Megan Rapinoe, American women’s soccer superstar, began kneeling in support of Kaepernick and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. In match before her then-club and the Washington Spirit, the latter elected, well within their right, to play the National Anthem before the players took the pitch. It was a genius move, if only for the furious reaction it elicited from Rapinoe:
“I didn’t hear it and I wasn’t exactly sure why it wasn’t played. It’s [expletive] unbelievable. Saddened by it. It’s pretty clear what the message is I am trying to bring to light in Chicago and what I continue to try to talk about the last few days. Clearly with [Spirit owner Bill Lynch’s] actions, it’s a necessary conversation. It was incredibly distasteful, four days before one of the worst tragedies in our country, to say that I tried to hijack this event. … It’s just really disappointing and disrespectful. We want to talk about disrespect, and me disrespecting, he didn’t even give both teams a chance to even stand in front of it and show their respects. It’s unbelievable. It’s truly an unbelievable act to me.”
Make no mistake: this was sour grapes on the part of Rapinoe, over being denied the opportunity to protest during the National Anthem. Of course, she wasn’t actually denied anything. If she were really a woman of conviction, she would’ve managed to kneel on her own accord, at a time of her choosing, at any point during the event. The only reason she wanted to do so during the National Anthem is because it would’ve captured everyone’s attention and, more important, would’ve sent the message she wanted to send: I don’t believe America deserves to be honored.
By moving up the anthem, however, the Washington Spirit not only checkmated Rapinoe, but revealed how hollow her sentiments really were. I can’t imagine a better way to have handled the situation and desperate times call for increasingly outside-the-box thinking.
Of course, I’m talking about eliminating the playing of the National Anthem, entirely. I believe we should because it’s become a ritual so fraught and politicized, it simply doesn’t serve the purpose it once did. I’ve also never been one to believe we should force anyone to do anything, which is why it makes more sense to eliminate the question altogether, allow spectators to attend sporting events, and go right to enjoying what they paid for. There isn’t anything particularly patriotic about sports to begin with, unless you’re talking about an international event like the Olympics (a topic deserving a whole different discussion). Perhaps reserve the playing of the National Anthem for the biggest sporting events (Super Bowl, World Series, etc.), but it isn’t any kind of strike against the country to not play the anthem before every single game. There’s a reason why televised games don’t show the playing of the anthem, aside from the more momentous ocassions.
Finally, the playing of the National Anthem and our conduct during it has never served as a litmus test of patriotism. Really, how many of you stand at home when the National Anthem is played on your television? Again, these rituals only mean something in the context of a culture and society where one’s love for country isn’t such a hotly-debated topic. The debate will always be there, but it wouldn’t be quite as heated as it is today. A society in which we reflexively question each other’s love for country has serious underlying issues which cannot be resolved simply by playing the anthem before every sporting event in the country and expecting everyone to stand and place their hands over their hearts. Again, some questions are simply better off being side-stepped to begin with.
I’ll close by saying the debate is more symptom than disease. We were having these conversations back when times were good, but the conversation has certainly become more fraught and ugly in recent times. It’s indicative of a country at war with itself, figuratively, unsure of what it is and what it represents. As stated a few sentence ago, this is a beef that cannot be resolved at our sporting events, nor do I profess to know how exactly to solve it.
But what I do know is that indulging the politicization of everything isn’t the way to go about it. It’s unfortunate the cultural Left possesses such sway over our country and the way we perceive it, but it’s a reality we have to wake up to. If they want to let the world know they don’t want to honor their country, then, well, let them.
Just don’t give them the satisfaction of showing it off and rubbing it in our noses.
Max Remington writes about armed conflict and prepping. Follow him on Twitter at @AgentMax90.
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