The humanoid collective is in an unforgiving snit over the refusal of NFL quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, to stand for the playing of the national anthem. For a society that was once grounded in a greater tolerance for individual values and preferences, this reaction is another symptom of a system that no longer serves – much less tolerates – the diverse nature of human life.

Why would an intelligent person in any country want to stand for and sing a "national anthem?" How would such an act contribute to the well-being of someone who engaged in it?  Let me state, at the outset, that in all matters relating to my conduct, I am a firm agnostic when it comes to evaluating the conduct others expect me to follow. Consensus-based definitions of reality or propriety do not impress me. My mind will always insist upon  asking my favorite word in the English language – the word that children ask of the adults in their lives until they are forced to abandon its use – "why?"  If you would like me to follow a prescribed course of behavior, please inform me how my doing so would benefit me.

For such reasons, I do not stand for – or sing – the national anthem; do not pledge allegiance to the state; nor salute its most visual image, the flag. Neither do I snap to attention on command, nor thank soldiers for their "service" in helping to kill innocent men, women, and children in foreign lands, as [1] I had not asked them to do so, and [2] such a request, on my part, would have been an evil act.

I do not recite The Lord's Prayer, nor shout "Go Big Red!" at football games. I am not hostile to such expressions and respect the liberty of others to do so because I know such words reflect what is of value to them. I ask only that others respect my liberty to express myself in my chosen ways, a request Mr. Kaepernick now makes of the rest of us.

I do not fully accept Samuel Johnson's classic statement that "patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." Were he around today, he might discover that it is not the "last refuge," but more often the first. In order to understand the meaning of the patriotic babbling that is so prevalent, we should begin by analyzing what these expressions and practices mean.