Bend the Knee

I’ve been thinking about the contradictions we keep after listening to an interview with Colin Kaepernick -

Bend the knee to pray

Show your reverence for the moment and to the creator of the universe

But only if I believe your God is mine

Your prayers to another are dangerous

Bend the knee to profess your love

Honor your beloved with a promise to build a life together

But ignore the rubble we make out of the lives of our enemies

Your humanity is a nuisance

Bend the knee to speak to a child

Lower your voice and your body to make them feel safe and seen

But silence their plea to feel safe in school

Your weakness isn’t in our 2nd Amendment

Bend the knee to garden and sow

Sit on the earth to till the soil and plant for the future

But allow us demolish national parks and build cement blocks

Your sentimentalism doesn’t make money

Bend the knee to labor

Respect your spaces with rituals of wiping, dusting and mopping

But expel the brown-skinned laborers in the sun

Your empathy is soiling our country

Bend the knee to injury

Watch from the sideline to show your respect for the athlete who gave it all

But stand tall for the flag that only waves for some

Your pain has no place among true patriots

Bend the knee to Xi

Make them crawl on the carpet in uniform to pave a smooth path

But don’t dare question our strength

Your skepticism is Communism