Everything Is Political and Has Always Been
Most of the Steelers did not play the anthem on Sunday after President Trump suggested what players should do when the anthem is played. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said , “We’re not going to play politics.” However, this is not possible.
Everything is political, and it has always been that way. Politics is what the government does and what people think about what the government should do. Politics dictates what you can do and say and what options you have in life. As they say, personal is political .
Your ability to afford health insurance and access health care (or not) is political in the sense that it has been shaped by government action or inaction. The fact that hepatitis A is raging on the streets of San Diego is political. The fact that the police are killing unarmed black men at an alarming rate – and indeed all police, prison, and criminal justice activities – are political. Being able to marry the person you love is political. The fear of being deported is a political phenomenon. With loosened security rules and climate change denial, even hurricanes are political these days.
It is political that we go to war, fly flags, sing hymns and honor soldiers.
One Steelers player, Alejandro Villanueva, stepped onto the pitch and sang the anthem anyway. He is a veteran who reportedly said honoring military personnel at the head of the flag was more important than protesting against racial injustice. This is a very political statement.
Where do we get the idea that political statements can be avoided? Well, if the police don’t spend a lot of time in your predominantly white suburb, protests against police violence is a spectacular sport you may not want to watch. If you cannot get pregnant, you can ignore access to contraception and abortion. If you don’t know people without papers, DACA seems like political football that has nothing to do with your life. The only way to pretend that something is “not political” is to not be interested in it.