WHO’S THE REAL HERO?

Clearly it is San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick whom has put his career and vast earnings on the line to do that basic duty all soldiers like Glenn Coffee took an oath to do, but continually fall way short of doing—defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. 

"I, Glenn Coffee, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

I understand that Glenn Coffee is a soldier duty-bound to follow the leadership, guidance, and the examples set forth by both commissioned and non-commissioned officers who, like every soldier they lead, pledge a similar oath: 

"I, functionary, having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of [any] do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God."

There should be no kerfuffle as it relates to the recent actions of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick as he exercises a fundamental right afforded to "all of us" by the First Amendment. And therefore I stand firm in advocating that the real hero here is Colin Kaepernick. His form of patriotism came not by physically entering into our armed forces or by pledging an oath that many who serve are undoubtedly ignoring, but through an act of audacious bravery as he continues to take a stand for oppressed racial minorities—freeborn citizens of the United States of America. It’s quite simple, really: are we the land of the free and the home of the brave or are we the land of the free and the home of the forever enslaved?

Pragmatic author A.K. Kuykendall has a passion for writing conspiracy, espionage, horror, and suspense literature that blend the concepts of fact and fiction. For more information on his projects, visit http://www.thewriterofbooks.com/list-of-works/ or, to email the author directly for Q&A on this post, write to info@thewriterofbooks.com.