Years ago, I had a conversation I had with a fellow reporter and his political, cultural and social views were 100 percent opposed to mine.

If I said “blue state,” he said “red state.” If I said “conservative,” he said “liberal.” Most of the time, I didn’t think twice about his views, until he said he believed in burning the American flag.

That one shocked me, and I had to stop and think about that statement for a long time.

I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to see any flag burned or desecrated but, in the United States, I would uphold his right to express his views as long as no one was hurt or killed in the protest.

And that’s where I find myself as I read blogs, Tweets and online postings about NFL players taking a knee during the National Anthem. This started last year when NFL athlete Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the anthem.

Kaepernick said he was not going to “show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” So instead of standing, he knelt during the anthem and faced a tidal wave of protests as well as people siding with him.

When I first saw him kneeling instead of standing, I was furious. Not because he was protesting but because of the respect I have for the many veterans I’ve talked to over the years.

I remember interviewing the late Charlie Kalkomey about his service. He didn’t agree to the interview because he wanted glory or recognition. He agreed because I asked and I think he wanted people to understand what so many veterans endured. During the interview, he quietly told me why he limped. It was because he was trapped on an enemy island during World War II and, while wounded, had to crawl through gunfire just to make it to safety.

I can still remember sitting in his office, feeling sick to my stomach for what he’d gone through. For the rest of his life, Mr. Kalkomey lived with that limp but never whined or blamed anyone for his war injuries. They were the result of his having performed his duty to his country.

I remember interviewing a Vietnam veteran who sobbed through the first part of our interview. He hadn’t talked about his service for over 40 years, and seeing pictures of himself at the age of 18 in the jungles of Viet Nam brought the knowledge of the youth he’d lost. No one knew the internal sadness and loss of innocence this veteran carried with him every single day. But he didn’t regret serving his country. He regretted that so many people didn’t give Vietnam vets the respect they deserved.

I remember the late Arthur Mahlmann and Frank Briscoe talking about hunkering down in foxholes in Europe while artillery exploded over their heads. They endured freezing winters and nightly terrors of not knowing whether or not they’d live another day.

I thought I was interviewing them because of their generosity to this community over their lifetimes. I found out they’d given much more than money and time – they gave their youth.

The World War II nurses I interviewed in Greatwood all had Purple Hearts and all had tended the wounds of soldiers in the battlefield, held the hands of bleeding service men and listened to the final prayers of those who’d been mortally wounded.

These women came home, put their medals in the closet and went about rearing their families, never asking for recognition or thanks.

So when I hear the national anthem played, I stand for the veterans and the people and way of life they believed were worth fighting for. It’s my way of thanking them for putting their lives on the line every day of their service.

So while I understand one’s taking the knee during the national anthem and have to grudgingly say America allows that freedom, there is no way I would not stand.

The reason is simple.

So many stood for what was right and so many died so we could continue fighting for justice, whether it was in a foxhole in Europe, a jungle in Vietnam or the attitudes of prejudiced people.

They fought so we can disagree, protest and demand change.

They fought for you.

They fought for me.

They fought for America.

I understand your decision to kneel.

Understand mine to stand.

 

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.