Columnists Eugene Robinson and Christine Emba discuss the NFL's decision to fine protesting players. They join opinion writers David Ignatius and Molly Roberts on the weekly Opinions roundtable "it's Only Thursday." (The Washington Post)
Columnists Eugene Robinson and Christine Emba discuss the NFL's decision to fine protesting players. They join opinion writers David Ignatius and Molly Roberts on the weekly Opinions roundtable "it's Only Thursday." (The Washington Post)
It is, unfortunately, appropriate that the National Football League’s owners decided to issue their rule attacking free expression the week before Memorial Day.
A holiday dedicated to those who gave their lives for our nation’s freedom has itself been mired in political controversy almost from the beginning. The latest round of posturing and pandering around patriotism should not surprise us.
Samuel Johnson saw patriotism as “the last refuge of a scoundrel.” Let’s qualify that. An honest love of country is a virtue, not a vice. And nothing should sully the honor of the men and women whose sacrifices make it possible for us to speak and worship freely, and to exercise democratic control over our government.
Nonetheless, Johnson was onto something, because patriotism often is manipulated in the name of power, advantage and, in the case of the NFL’s wealthy overseers, money. And the contested history of Memorial Day is a story not only of innocent local pride but also of political and cultural clashes.
It took until 1966 for Congress to grant official recognition to Waterloo, N.Y. — it first decorated the graves of Union soldiers on May 5, 1866 — as the originator of the holiday.
San Francisco 49ers Eric Reid (35), Colin Kaepernick (7) and Eli Harold (58) kneel during the national anthem in 2016. (Daniel Gluskoter/AP)
But there are many other claims. The great Civil War historian James McPherson told the story of a Northern abolitionist who traveled to Charleston, S.C., to organize schools for freed slaves. On May 1, 1865, a year before Waterloo, he led a group of black children to a cemetery for Union soldiers “to scatter flowers on their graves.”
In the meantime, Southern women began organizing ceremonies for those who died doing battle for secession, culminating in the practice of Confederate Memorial Days. Gen. John A. Logan, the commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, the politically influential Union veterans group, is widely credited with taking the holiday national. He called on the GAR’s posts to hold decoration rites on May 30, 1868, for those who died to keep the country together. By 1891, every Northern state had established May 30 as a holiday.
It’s no shock that the holiday’s many currents of regional and racial tension rose to the surface during President Barack Obama’s time in office. In 2009, a group of scholars, including McPherson, wrote Obama, urging him to abandon the practice that began with President Woodrow Wilson of sending a wreath to the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.
As was his way, Obama responded with what he hoped would be unifying gestures. He lay the traditional wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, had a wreath delivered to the Confederate Memorial and became the first president to send one as well to the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington . It commemorates the service of more than 200,000 people of color who fought for the Union.
Oh, yes, and in 2010, when Obama chose to honor the war dead in Chicago, some of his conservative critics intimated he was the only president not to lay a Memorial Day wreath at Arlington.
That was flatly untrue. Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush and others had all been elsewhere on Memorial Day at least once during their terms.
So phony claims and nasty innuendo built around imagined sins against patriotism and our veterans predate President Trump. But Trump’s attacks on NFL players who have knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice represent a particularly vile effort to mobilize political support by implying that the dissenting athletes, most of them black, lack a devotion to country.
The NFL enacted a new policy May 23 requiring players to stand for the national anthem or wait in the locker room. Players have protested police treatment of African Americans by kneeling during the anthem, a move President Trump has criticized. (Victoria Walker /The Washington Post)
The privileged NFL owners chose to capitulate to this divisive propaganda. The anthem at the heart of this discussion celebrates our country as “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Yet the owners’ action is the opposite of bravery and a blow to freedom. Many on the right have spoken out forcefully for free speech on college campuses. But do they now propose to turn stadiums into “safe spaces” where conservatives deny others the liberties they claim for themselves? (And kudos to conservative writer and Iraq War vet David French for calling out this contradiction.)
Democrats fret that even engaging with Trump on all of this risks placing progressives on the wrong side of patriotism. But the history of Memorial Day should teach us that the meaning of our patriotism has long been a matter of necessary struggle.
We should not let the divider in the Oval Office keep us from joining together in profound appreciation of our fallen. They perished under a flag that represents “liberty and justice for all.” The living cannot surrender either of these commitments.
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"These are some of our Marines buried here," said U.S. Marine Sergeant Major Darrell Carver of the 6th Marine Regiment as he walks among the graves of U.S. soldiers, most of them killed in the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood, during a ceremony to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the battle on Memorial Day at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery on May 27, 2018 near Chateau-Thierry, France. Nearly 100 years before U.S. soldiers, including Marines from the 6th Regiment, repelled repeated assaults from a German advance at Belleau Wood only 60 miles from Paris. The U.S. suffered approximately 10,000 casualties in the month-long battle, including nearly 2,000 dead. Today the Battle of Belleau Wood is central to the lore of U.S. Marines. (Photo: Sean Gallup, Getty Images)
America remembers the fallen
On Memorial Day, the U.S. remembers all soldiers who have died during any act of military service. Today, most government offices and a number of businesses will be closed to honor fallen military men and women. For restaurants and stores that are open, many offer freebies and special discounts to veterans and active military. If you didn’t make any travel plans this year, don’t worry. It might rain anyway. Subtropical Storm Alberto will dump heavy rain across much of the southeastern United States through the long weekend.
CLOSE Soldiers place flags at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day. Militarykind, USA TODAY
It's National Burger Day, and the chains are upping their game
Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, and this year it also happens to coincide with National Burger Day! Several restaurants are celebrating with deals. Participation can vary and in some cases, you'll need to be signed up for the restaurant's loyalty program or have a mobile app. The day comes as McDonald's and other chains are responding to demand for higher-quality burgers.
CLOSE Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, and this year it also happens to coincide with National Burger Day! Celebrate with these deals. USA TODAY
The puck drops on the Stanley Cup Finals
No matter what, one NHL team is four wins away from capturing their first Stanley Cup. Game 1 of the National Hockey's League championship round begins tonight as the Washington Capitals — who haven't held the Cup in their 44-year history — battle the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who will attempt to hoist hockey's greatest reward in their very first season.
CLOSE SportsPulse: We have the makings of a great Stanley Cup Final on our hands and USA TODAY Sports' Kevin Allen breaks it all down. USA TODAY Sports
LeBron looms over Game 7 hoops battle
The Houston Rockets play at home against the Golden State Warriors on Monday to determine the winner of the NBA's Western Conference. The Warriors tied the best-of-seven series at three Thursday after guard Klay Thompson's on-fire performance powered a 115-86 victory. Whoever wins will face the Cleveland Cavaliers for all the marbles, with LeBron James & co. having bested the Boston Celtics on Sunday night. Amazingly, it will be James' eighth straight trip to the NBA finals.
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) celebrates during the second half of Game 6 of the NBA basketball Western Conference Finals against the Houston Rockets in Oakland, Calif., Saturday, May 26, 2018. The Warriors won 115-86. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) (Photo: The Associated Press)
Broncos bigwig chases golfing glory
Denver Broncos general manager John Elway will compete Monday in a qualifying golf tournament with a shot at playing in the U.S. Senior Open. The former Super Bowl-winning quarterback will aim to finish as one of the top two competitors at The Broadmoor East Course in Colorado Springs, according to The Denver Post. Should he win or finish as the tournament's runner-up, he'd have a spot in the U.S. Senior Open come June 28.
Former NFL great John Elway tees off on the 12th hole during the Annexus Pro-Am at the 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: Tom Tingle/The Republic)
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President Donald Trump paid tribute to fallen soldiers on Memorial Day with a tweet applauding the state of the country under his administration.
Trump praised the current unemployment rate for African-Americans and Hispanics, as well as the “best economy in decades” ― two areas that began steadily improving under the Obama administration.
“Those who died for our great country would be very happy and proud at how well our country is doing today,” Trump tweeted Monday. “Nice!”
Happy Memorial Day! Those who died for our great country would be very happy and proud at how well our country is doing today. Best economy in decades, lowest unemployment numbers for Blacks and Hispanics EVER (& women in 18years), rebuilding our Military and so much more. Nice! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2018
Hours earlier, Trump tweeted a nearly minute-long video commemorating the federal holiday. He is expected later Monday to participate in a Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
″I know that everybody is remembering the fallen soldiers who have paid the ultimate price for our country, and it’s a country that we all love,” Trump said in the video. “As Americans, we come together to remember our great heroes on this Memorial Day.”
Minutes after his Twitter tribute to fallen soldiers, Trump renewed his attacks against the Justice Department while live-tweeting Fox News ― a common practice for this president.
“We now find out that the Obama Administration put the opposing campaigns presidential candidate, or his campaign, under investigation. That raises legitimate questions. I just find this really odd...this goes to the heart of our electoral system.” Jonathan Turley on @FoxNews — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2018
Twitter users dragged Trump for his seemingly self-congratulatory tweet on Memorial Day. Some mocked his five deferments to avoid military service during the Vietnam War, including his claim of “bone spurs.”
Why are you bragging about the economy on Memorial Day? — Ryan Hill (@RyanHillMI) May 28, 2018
#CadetBoneSpurs sure puts the ME in Memorial Day. — Karen (@NoReGretsky) May 28, 2018
Happy #MemorialDay. Here's a copy of Donald Trump's Selective Classification record, including his many, many deferments to dodge the Vietnam War. pic.twitter.com/h0IWEWA6Uv — Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) May 28, 2018
Legit did a double take because I thought this might be from a parody account. Nope. Trump thinks Memorial Day is all about him. pic.twitter.com/J9S1ts8E3S — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 28, 2018
