When Colin Kaepernick took a knee last fall during the singing of the National Anthem, it sparked an intense debate over race-based police brutality. Since then, some have defended Kaepernick by arguing that, in addition to the police brutality issue, the National Anthem is racist. This defense then escalated into a larger conflict over the status of slavery in the Constitution—and for good reason: If the Constitution is racist, it follows that its symbols and celebrations—the flag and anthem—are similarly infected. Are the moral foundations of our country—whose laws the police enforce and whose anthem we sing—racist and pro-slavery, as some believe? If America is racist at its core, it is likely that its police are too, and that its anthem and flag likewise celebrate this evil.

Source: Forbes September 29, 2017 21:53 UTC