NFL kneeling

I've been mulling this over for a few days now trying to figure out what exactly it is that grates me so much about NFL players kneeling for our national anthem. It started with one player who publicly announced it was because of police brutality towards black individuals in the wake of Ferguson.

Here's my biggest problem and the source of my uneasiness about it:

Standing for the national anthem and our flag is the ONE thing that unites us as Americans. We are a nation of different ideologies, skin colors, origins,  political allegiances, faiths, zeal for different causes, and  passions. There is NOTHING homogeneous about us except we are all human and American . The ONE thing we have in common is our country, that flag that binds us. The freedoms we fight for today and men have fought and died for to protect in this great country. How fitting to play the national anthem at a sporting event where giants battle their opponents, in team colors and an audience shows up to support their side in painted face and team apparel. But for a brief moment before it all begins, we all TOGETHER with our "enemies" on field and in stands, ... STAND  for what unites us, America. We are all citizens of the greatest country on earth that people have lost lives for, protecting our freedoms. If we don't stand together for that, for country, TOGETHER, we literally have nothing left. 

I understand passion for a cause. I am passionate about the abortion debate in this country. But why would I attack the very foundation of our country, the country that affords me freedom to speak out against our current laws on abortion? Its because of the flag and our anthem I can stand side by side with my fellow Americans who I wholly disagree with and unite that we are in this together, that God can still prevail NOT by attacking our countries flag and song, but by reasoning with my fellow Americans using my free speech in an attempt to win hearts and minds. This messy freedom loving constitutional abiding country that we love, I won't attack that. I'll stand for it. And I hope you'll stand with me and be offended by any who are small enough to not stand up with me.

 Read carefully the lyrics to the national anthem. We are in a place in this country where we are at an ideological war with eachother , like the anthem states..."the bombs are bursting in air", but in the end, the flag was still there. We are all here today because of that, through good times and bad. There is powerful symbolism in that. Are you willing to stand for the flag that  has endured and remained even after the dust of war  settled? Will you stand for the land of the free, and home of the brave?

Oh, say can you see,
By the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed,
At the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched,
Were so gallantly streaming.
And the rocket's red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,