A fantastically dull and obtuse opinion from Lawrence O’Donnell.

This is a disgraceful failure by @CBSNews. No players are “protesting the national anthem.”
They are protesting police use of deadly force on unarmed black men. https://t.co/ufyrXTe0RB

— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) August 25, 2018

Here is the problem with defending kneeling for the National Anthem.

As a nation, we have no common ethnicity, religion, race, personal history, or culture.  We have nothing that traditionally binds societies together.

We should not be a Western nation by any measure.  We have more in common with Afghanistan or Sub-Saharan Africa than we do Europe.  We are a nation that is a patchwork of tribes of different races, religions, and cultures spread out across a land with arbitrarily drawn borders.

So why are we a Western nation and not a third world hellhole engaged in ceaseless tribal warfare?

We have one thing that binds us together: a common belief in America.

We overlook our racial, religious, and cultural differences because we believe in America and the values of liberty and equality enshrined in our Constitution.  Those values are symbolized by our Flag and honored when we honor our Flag while singing the National Anthem.

Singing the National Anthem is a unifying act, reminding us of our common bond as Americans who believe in America.

When that is disrespected it attacks the thing that binds us all together.

It would be like a Muslim disrespecting the Adhan (call to prayer).

These players can say what they are protesting is the treatment of black men by police, but what they are doing is protesting the symbol of national unity.

This is plainly evident as the more they protest the National Anthem the less focus there is on police shootings and the more national disunity we feel.

MSNBC is defending a Senate candidate who is defending an attack on national unity.

This is why the Left is accused of hating America so much.