THE BLOG

Intelligent and Inspirational ….That’s why I’m a BK fan.

SALUTE!

You are and have been my driver. And thank you for taking the time and thought process to layout your view. I’ve met u at dega once and got a hat signed by you. I appreciate when u carry old glory after a victory and wondered your thoughts on this whole process because of your type of celebration. I currently serve the nation and have also bared it’s flag for 8 years and counting. I got the honor of serving in the honor guard and have presented those colors to 84 next of kin. I have personally looked into all of their eyes and told them the nation is thankful for their loved ones honorable and faithful service. The meaning of our stars and stripes mean something different to each individual. But if u take the time and meet the gold star families, vets, and retirees you will see the love for a country as a whole. Thank you for taking your platform and approaching it with grace.

Ps hang on to that flag a little tighter from here on out. 🙂 And if you are ever near Columbus afb please stop in. Would love to show you and your team around. I do know your time is precious though.

This is an excellent and thought provoking commentary… thank you, Brad!

This is really good Brad. This is a very good analysis of the incident. Very well said.

An excellent post Brad. It’s a coincidence but I did a FB post on this today. I am part of a military family. My Dad served 20 years, my husband (who is a huge BK fan) and I both served 20 years and we currently have 2 nephews serving. I completely understand Colin’s right to protest. I support peaceful protests but what you said is correct….truth and grace. It was great to draw attention to his concerns and to start his platform but now that needs to change to a different venue. He says he will kneel until the racial inequality ends. This type of conversation he wants started is not going to be a quick fix. Racial inequality is a very large problem and by continuing to protest this way along with others now raising their fists, I think will hinder the conversation. Another thing you point out hits deeply home. I love football but now I don’t even want to watch it because the media focuses on those kneeling or raising a fist. It hurts. Sports IS one of my ways to “get away” from everything else going on in the world. Sorry to bend your ear but wanted you to know this post is appreciated. Good luck in The Chase!

Well said Brad. Your Maturity over the last couple of years has been a pleasure to watch! Best of luck in the Chase and in life!

Always great reads and makes one think about opinions,thanks

Brad,

Appreciate your well reasoned and obviously heartfelt response. Truth and Grace are hard and they are supposed to be. Nothing easy is worth a damn.

While I understand how some in the military and their families may think of this as a personal affront, I do not. I will complete my 30th year of service this month. My son is in his second year of ROTC. My wife served 4 years. Her father served 8. Her grandfather 24. My father was killed in Vietnam 3 months before I was born. I say all of that only to give context of my perspective.

My oath is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. Colin Kaepernick choosing to sit during the national anthem does not represent a threat to the Constitution. Far from it, he strengthens it. Our Union requires men of free will, free thought and free speech. We don’t need a nation of yes men. Can you imagine how limited a driver would be if his crew chief constantly agreed with him? “I think we should take two and gas” “well you do have 200 laps on those left sides and gas is going to take 12 seconds but you are the boss so rights sides and gas boys!” Our nation can’t survive without men of conscience standing up and saying “That is not right.”

You mentioned drunk driving and I still remember when drunk driving was not only common, it was not that big a deal. I sometimes marvel at how I survived being a kid in the late 60s and early 70s with unsafe cars and unsafe drivers. It took people of conscience, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers in particular, to say “enough” before laws were changed and more importantly social stigma got people to stop. What we forget is that MADD was controversial at the time. Politicians actually resisted passing laws that now seem like a bare minimum. Prior to 1998 some states had BAC as high as 0.15 for DUI and there was significant resistance to lowering it. Today DUI fatalities are half what they were in 1982 despite the nation being 50% larger. Thats the power of words turned to action.

Someone not standing during the national anthem isn’t a threat to the Constitution but someone else trying to force standing or “punish” for not standing IS a threat to the Constitution. The minute we compel someone to obey a ritual we head face first down the slippery slope of blind obedience. In my travels as a soldier I have seen the results of blind obedience and they are never good. When we deny any citizen the right to think we are denying the very essence of our nation.

I know what an enemy of the Constitution looks like. It’s not Colin Kaepernick which makes him ok with me as a soldier. I don’t agree one bit with his views on first responders, but I understand where his come from. The vast majority of police officers conduct themselves in an exemplary maker every day. They serve and protect their friends and neighbors without bias or malice. Some do not. To label all bad because of the acts of a few is not helpful. It creates an us vs them mentality on both sides that continues the cycle of violence and mistrust. And the sad fact is that some on both sides have seen profit in continuing this serial and they are dragging otherwise well meaning people into ugly agreements full of hate. Unfortunately, too many in this country no longer know how to disagree without being disagreeable.

Let me close with a form of speech seen at every NASCAR race – the Confederate flag. I have heard all the arguments about “heritage” and “states rights.” let me tell you what it means to this soldier – treason. To take up arms against your nation is treason. To celebrate and honor treasonous acts is to endorse treason. But just like you Brad, I respect their right to express their views and hope they respect my right to think ill of them. I find it especially ironic when I hear questioning of Colin’s motives and “disrespecting the flag” from folks who proudly fly the stars and bars. I can think of no greater affront to The Stars and Stripes than the stars and bars.

Again, thank you. Thank you for taking the time and effort to express this. Thank you for taking the risk of speaking up in what is a very toxic environment for any public figure. Now quit reading this and get ready of the Chase! Win all 10 so there is no doubt!

Your blog always provides food for thought. Thank you for this one, in particular. It’s the core of our national debate.

I’m sure he was looking to make some people “uncomfortable” for not honoring the lives of soldiers who sacrificed, when we continuously use TRADITIONS blindly, while denying ALL Americans justice under the law. That is what he was protesting. Whether Brad or anyone felt a way about it mattered not obviously, when considering his protest and possible backlash. Military personnel are actually supportive as much as non.

Very, very well thought out and said Brad. As a Veteran I don’t agree with Colin’s way to show his protest, but I served to protect his right to do so. Hopefully he will find a more productive way to get his message across. Bless you and your family Brad.

As long as you realize that prejustice and rasim isn’t just rooted in the white population, but all American demographics, I agree. Im a career law enforcement officer. Police brutality is a problem, especially in larger police agencies… but people behaving poorly and dangerously exist rverywhere Brad.

Very eloquent blog Brad. Very well said. Now go out and win this Chase ! Go Brad #2

Wow…thank you for forcing me to think a little deeper, see a little clearer, and adjust my attitude another notch.

Well said Brad and Thank you for that! Good Luck in the Chase!!! GO TEAM PENSKE!!!!!!

Thank you for your insight! I would like your permission to share your article at my inner city middle school. We have so many angry young minority boys who have been victim. But they need to see that there are other ways of making a big statement. While we may disagree with how he is protesting, the freedom he has TO protest must be appreciated.

Very well stated Brad, thank you for taking the time in your busy schedule to address this issue.

Very well stated, Brad. If we look for reasons rather than knee jerk reactions we are all better off in life. We then ask, is this the best way to approach a remedy or to acknowledge a subject? Or is there something else I can do to make this issue less polarizing and understood.

As a disabled veteran, I’m sick of the indoctrination and hero worship. My oath of enlistment was to uphold the Constitution, the one that says that a person can sit for the anthem for any reason whatsoever, even no reason at all. I’m also a sports fan, and I can honestly say that it gets very old hearing the anthem 15 times a weekend. Football games, baseball games, basketball games, multiple races, holy crap we get it. I love my country, if I had to I would still fight and die for it, but that doesn’t mean that I have to get on my knees and worship Uncle Sam’s twig and berries. Maybe you don’t agree with Colin’s method, but guess what, everyone’s talking about it aren’t they? Isn’t that the goal of a protest?