![\"F4\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/385\/2017\/09\/F4-1024x768.jpg\")
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You\u2019ve probably been hearing it not just daily, but\u00a0in a dozen different places across the internet: taking a knee during the national anthem is disrespectful to those who sacrificed in the service of this\u00a0country.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve heard it so many times in the last week, from the President to random people with flags as a profile picture, that I\u2019m exhausted by it.<\/p>\n
What has been even more difficult when listening to this \u201cyou\u2019re disrespecting our vets\u201d argument, is\u00a0watching people like myself be put at the center of\u00a0it\u2013 often by people who are not one of us.\u00a0These self-professed \u201cgreat Americans\u201d claim to be the ones who honor me, and that others are diminishing my service.<\/p>\n
Well, I\u2019m tired of random people on the internet speaking for me. I have a voice, and I am capable of using it.<\/p>\n
I am a retired active duty member of the United States Armed Forces. I also have a 90% disability rating with the Veterans Administration for service-connected disabilities.<\/p>\n
I gave this nation a significant chunk\u00a0of my life\u2013\u00a0and gave it parts of me that I didn\u2019t realize I wouldn\u2019t be able to get back when it was over.<\/p>\n
You see, when\u00a0you talk about this specific group of people who sacrificed for the nation, I intimately know who you\u2019re talking about\u2013 because I see it every time I look\u00a0in the mirror.<\/p>\n
I know what it\u2019s like to experience every right of passage that military members experience,\u00a0from that\u00a0initial moment all your hair is cut off, to the first time you feel the recoil of an M-16. I know all the tricks to getting a boot to hold its shine, how to properly starch a uniform,\u00a0which MRE people are most likely to fight over, and I can decode acronyms and phrases that might as well be an ancient language to civilians.<\/p>\n
Oh, and I totally know what Birth Control Glasses are.<\/p>\n
More than just those typical rights of passage, I know\u00a0what some other military experiences are like, too.<\/p>\n
I know what seven consecutive<\/em> years overseas feels like, and how you can almost forget what it\u2019s like to be in the nation you\u2019re actually serving.<\/p>\n I know how painful it is to realize it\u2019s been nearly three years since you\u2019ve been able to go home because your duty station is in such a remote part of the world, that it is financially cost prohibitive to go back and visit.<\/p>\n I know the pain of spending\u00a0Christmas alone\u2013 over, and over and over again, and\u00a0how you wish you\u2019d\u00a0grown numb to a life where\u00a0friends\u00a0often seem to leave faster than you can make new ones. I know what the lock-down on September 11th felt like in Korea, what it\u2019s like to pick up the phone and hear \u201cThreatcon Delta! This is NOT an exercise\u201d, and what it\u2019s like to deploy last minute to a hostile fire zone\u2013 \u00a0prohibited from telling anyone where you\u2019re going or when you\u2019ll be back. I also know that instead of some huge fanfare when you return from down range, sometimes you don\u2019t even have anyone to pick you up at the airport.<\/p>\n And when you\u2019re done? Well, I know\u00a0that\u00a0dealing with the VA is the most devaluing and insulting experience I have ever faced as a veteran. I know how they\u00a0will drag their feet as long as possible on disability claims, how they\u2019ll send you letters for 3-5 years saying they\u2019re \u201cstill reviewing your medical records,\u201d and how the entire process feels like a game where they are\u00a0constantly trying to find any angle to blame medical conditions on something before the military\u2013 as if rigorous medical screening weren\u2019t part of the process to get into the military in the first place.<\/p>\n So you know what? I can speak for myself on this whole \u201ctaking a knee\u00a0disrespects our vets,\u201d because I\u2019ve earned my right to speak.<\/p>\n Here is what I\u2019d like\u00a0to tell all of you who make this argument on \u201cmy behalf.\u201d<\/p>\n On the day I entered the military, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. I didn\u2019t take that oath lightly\u2013 it meant something to me.<\/p>\n While our constitution covers a lot of ground, what stood out in my mind all those years were the basic freedoms granted by the first amendment: the freedom of religion, freedom of speech\/expression, freedom of the press,\u00a0freedom to assemble, and the right to petition the government.<\/p>\n The chunk of my life I gave? All those things that I lost and can never get back?\u00a0Well, I did that to support these core ideals that Americans have long cherished.<\/p>\n And what I need those of you who claim taking a knee disrespects my sacrifice to hear,\u00a0is this:<\/p>\n Instead of disrespected, I feel\u00a0my sacrifice deeply honored<\/em> every single time I see a football player take a knee\u2013 because\u00a0that<\/em> represents the freedom of speech and expression that I gave so much\u00a0of myself to uphold.<\/p>\n In fact,<\/strong>\u00a0nothing honors my sacrifice more than the public exercise\u00a0of these core freedoms.<\/strong><\/p>\n What I\u2019d also like you to know is that it is actually\u00a0your<\/em> position that disrespects what I have given for\u00a0this nation.<\/p>\n When you vilify and harass someone for the peaceful exercise of their rights, and when you participate in a public campaign to harm or end their careers simply because they are using the very rights\u00a0veterans like myself have sacrificed for, you<\/em> disrespect me.<\/p>\n You<\/em> insult me. You<\/em> dishonor me.<\/p>\n You\u00a0exploit<\/em> me for your own cause.<\/p>\n In fact, there is nothing more opposed to the values I fought for than to\u00a0use threats and coercion to force someone to express something they don\u2019t wish to express.<\/p>\n You say you are offended when these players take a knee, and that they are disrespecting my sacrifice to the nation.<\/p>\n But the reality?<\/p>\n There is no position that disrespects me,\u00a0or\u00a0dishonors my sacrifice, more than yours<\/span><\/strong> does.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2026<\/p>\n Be sure to check out his new blog, right here<\/a>, and follow on Facebook<\/a>:<\/p>\n![\"presbush\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/385\/2017\/09\/presbush.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDr. Benjamin L Corey is the author of the new book, Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear-Based Faith. You can preorder your copy today. Details are right here.<\/a><\/p>\n
\nDr. Benjamin L. Corey<\/a> is a public theologian and cultural anthropologist who is a two-time graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with graduate degrees in the fields of Theology and International Culture, and holds a doctorate in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary.\u00a0He is also the author of the new book, Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear-Based Faith, which is available wherever good books\u00a0are sold. www.Unafraid-book.com.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n