And it is imperfect, as we are reminded by several articles in the wake of Kaepernick’s protest that have shined a light on the fact that the national anthem so many of us have sung unquestioningly since our childhoods is itself racist, with verses (usually not sung) glorifying slavery and even expressing anti-Muslim sentiment. Sometimes protests can teach us more about things we take for granted than we expect. Heartening in the face of the vitriol for Kaepernick are responses from those who defend him and even, symbolically or physically, sit down with him. His teammate Eric Reid, for example, knelt next to the quarterback as the “Star-Spangled Banner” blazed on the speakers in San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium this week. Jeremy Lane, a player for the Seattle Seahawks, chose to follow Kaepernick’s lead, despite never having met him, because he believed in his fellow athlete’s reasoning. DeRay Mckesson of the Black Lives Matter movement wrote on Facebook that after speaking with the quarterback, he concluded Kaepernick is “All-American, not un-American.” After coming under widespread criticism for a form of protest that could seem disrespectful to our military and veterans, Kaepernick said: “I have family, I have friends that have gone and fought for this country. They fight for freedom. They fight for the people, they fight for liberty and justice for everyone. “And that’s not happening. People are dying in vain because this country isn’t holding their end of the bargain up, as far as giving freedom and justice, liberty to everybody. It’s something that’s not happening. I’ve seen videos. I’ve seen circumstances where men and women that have been in the military have come back and been treated unjustly by the country they fought for and have been murdered by the country they fought for, on our land. That’s not right.” Soon after his protest hit the airwaves, the hashtag #VeteransForKaepernick allowed military servicemen and servicewomen to voice their support for him.