The controversy over protests during our national anthem has reached a level of divisiveness that threatens to undermine the foundation of our Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights. To start, I’m a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, and yes, I would prefer people to stand, uncover, and place a hand over their hearts (or render proper military salutes if in uniform) during the playing of the national anthem. But my preference and those of many senior government officials have no legal foundation.
In fact, I and every one of these senior government officials took an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” We made no oath to protect national symbols or songs, only the Constitution, meaning the content therein. The first amendment to the Constitution clearly provides for unabridged free speech and expression; however, legal rulings have enforced common sense limits to free speech and expression to protect the rights of others. Thus, we protect our children from pornography and our citizens from public defamation and hate speech. None of these limitations prohibit raising a fist while receiving a medal at the Olympics or kneeling at a sporting event during the playing of the national anthem. These are peaceful forms of protest, protected by our Constitution.
Generations of Americans, and even non-citizen immigrant residents, have fought and died or been incapacitated to protect the meaning and intent of our Constitution. If there is any singular, non-theological document we should hold sacred then, it is the U.S. Constitution. Without it, we are nothing—neither a nation nor a people. I believe most of us proudly identify ourselves as the nation and people bound by the precepts and ideologies stated within the Constitution. We know that the document is imperfect but that it wisely incorporates processes to alter content through legitimate means. Accordingly, over time, we have improved the rights afforded to citizens. We must not regress by attacking and/or denying lawful and reasonable forms of free speech.
Surprisingly, we seem more focused on anthem protests than rallies expounding fascist and supremacist ideologies, the latter of which attempt to undermine the Constitutional rights of some citizens. While our Constitution protects both forms of expression, we should be wary of doctrines that diminish Constitutional freedoms. Our government officials swore to defend the Constitution from any such subterfuge, not to apply personal preferences to determine what constitutional elements they’ll protect.
Of note, enlisted military service members also swear to obey the orders of the President and officers appointed over them. Officers take an oath to the Constitution only to ensure no commander-in-chief usurps power. Thus, while the President is free to express his opinion on any topic, military officers and their civilian counterparts are under no obligation to align with him or her if those opinions break with the Constitution. Indeed, by their oaths, they all, President included, swore to never impede constitutionally protected rights.
So let’s end the controversy by affirming that the Constitution trumps the anthem, flag, and personal opinion and move on. It’s time to focus on real issues, not manufactured ones.
