I am unapologetically not a sports fan. Even living in North Carolina amongst one of the fiercest collegiate rivalries in the country between Duke and the University of NC-Chapel Hill, I remain neutral and unengaged. So, during an ordinary year, the NFL preseason would have gone by me unnoticed. However, this preseason something unexpected happened that caused me to pay attention. Colin Kaepernick, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, has made a conscious decision not to stand up during the singing of the national anthem. When asked why, he responded, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” Whether you agree with Kaepernick or not, he is doing something many people are afraid to do. He is following his conscience.
Hello football season! I am all in and invested in the outcome of Kaepernick’s 
stand not to stand. History has proven that his actions just might yield the change in race relations he is seeking. He has inserted himself into the line of unsung American heroes who have fought against civil injustices from before this country was formally the United States. He is practicing Civil Disobedience. Henry David Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience in 1849. Thoreau is not only a respected writer and philosopher, but during his life he was also an abolitionist and a conductor in the Underground Railroad. He practiced a life of civil disobedience. The essay is too lengthy to discuss in detail, especially since it is not the main topic of this post. However, I would like to provide this quote from the essay to explain (in brief) the concept of the philosophy of civil disobedience,
“If a thousand men were not to pay their tax-bills this year that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of a peaceable revolution, if any such is possible.”
This is what Kaepernick is doing. He is conducting a peaceful revolution, similar to colonists throwing tea into the Boston Harbor, or Black college students sitting at the Woolworths lunch counter in segregated Greensboro, North Carolina. And, just as it was for the protestors in these instances, Kaepernick is being met with harsh criticism.
Here is where I would like the IPO blog community to really listen. Kaepernick has weighed the cost that his actions might yield, and yet he is still going forth with what he believes to be right. Kaeperrnick is walking in his truth. He is going forward no matter what he might lose because having peace of mind is much more valuable than having things. He says, “I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. … If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.” This is so powerful. There is something that we can learn from Kaepernick’s commitment to his beliefs. Am I saying, you have to start a major revolution? No. I am simply saying that sometimes you might have to sit down on the very things that cause you to have a troubled mind. How many of us are afraid to follow Kaepernick’s lead? How many of us are afraid to tell others “no”, or follow our dreams, or go against the status quo within our communities or families? How many of us have been pressured into living lives we don’t want to live because we want to please others? Listen, compromising who you are is one sure way to walk right into depression and/or being depressed. If you are losing sleep over an issue, you probably need to sit down on it. If you are compromising who you are to please people, you might want to choose to sit down on those people. If you are giving to others who do not respect or appreciate the sacrifices you make for them, then you might want to sit down on giving to them. Sometimes, in order to take a stand, we have to sit down. Sitting down is not giving up but rather yielding your position of opposition against any and everything that goes against who you are. As always, we will continue to press on together. But today, I am also asking you to choose a seat!