America's Problem Isn't the 1776 Flag; The Ignorance of 'Progressive' Left Is
Those ignorant to history are 'doomed to repeat it
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[OPINION] As the famous quote goes, 'those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it,' and that's what seems to happen on a mass scale in far-left America.
We only have to look at NFL star Colin Kaepernick, who recently associated the 1776 American flag with slavery, missing the purpose of the American Revolution.
The former football player turned activist managed to cancel a special edition Nike shoe because it t sported the Betsy Ross flag on the heel.
His reason was the flag “represents an era associated with slavery.”
It will be challenging to explain to someone who is not aware of history how wrong this is on so many levels.
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There is no question that slavery was abhorrent and did exist in the colonial era, and for many decades afterward, even now in other forms.
But slavery did not exclusively exist in just America in 1776; by far, it was not uniquely American at all.
The American Revolution was not fought for or about slavery.
The Betsy Ross flag represented far more than Kaepernick’s narrow misconception of history.
For those who know history, the American Revolution took place in the setting of an age of revolutions against the establishment, and the hereditary government.
The revolution was the first domino which aided in turning average people in citizens, not subjects.
The paradigm shift in the human mind and condition of that time is so profound; many cannot grasp the concept today.
America's founders wrestled with how tO deal with the legal and economic realities of slavey,
Their long-term intentions quite evident in the opening to the Declaration of Independence signed July 4, 1776.
Note the phrase, “all men are created equal."
Meaning "human,” not a gender-specific identifier.
They added we are “endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights.”
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You can imagine how radical this language was at the time.
Kings and queens still had the “divine right of kings” to rule as they pleased, and such a concept of the Declaration of Independence was a massive threat to them.
Like all good ideas that benefit humanity and not the elites, will be fiercely apposed until it is pushed through.
The American Revolution was a deeply anti-authoritarian and pro-humanitarian idea.
If a persons' rights are not honored by an occupant of a throne or government, then the people are genuinely greater and need no permission for freedom from a higher authority.
As the declaration states, people can end the Government that no longer serves them.
We do not serve them; they serve us.
The language was genuinely radical in the sense that it's dismantled the old concept of power.
The three stars on Ross’ flag represent the art and power of compromise.
Colonies disagreed profoundly on many issues, and slavery was one of them.
Most of the founders opposed it but also knew they could not forge a new nation and abolish slavery at the same time.
There was a compromise, where they engineered a system they could all live with and which would, someday, have to settle slavery once and for all.
It is a miracle that all 13 colonies agreed to unite symbolically on the flag.
Of course, the founders did not get everything perfect in 1776, and they knew this.
Winning independence was not winning the war, but a begging of the battle to keep it.
Nikes capitulation to Kaepernick, followed by support of Democrats, shows you they are ignorant of history.
