Colin Kaepernick vs. Stephen Hawking

   

        I used Colin Kaepernick’s name in my title to get your attention. This blog is really about our priorities. Mr. Kaepernick opted not to stand for the playing of the national anthem and made his feelings known as to why. He throws a ball for a living and the media is hanging on his every word; because they have an audience that seems to be enthralled by this story. I’ll admit, it’s entertaining and is a new portal to the ongoing conversation about racism and violence in this country.

            Dr. Stephen Hawking is subjectively considered to be one of the smartest human beings alive. He is a theoretical physicist who studied at Cambridge and Oxford. He continues to battle a debilitating disease that, by all accounts, should have killed him years ago. He is perhaps the most respected scientist in the world. As a multi-million selling author of scientific texts, he has explained the theory of time, black holes, and the potential origins of the universe to fellow academics and the average citizen alike.

            On May 30, 2016, Professor Hawking gave a talk in which he called Donald Trump a demagogue. Further, in that discussion he warned, “A more immediate danger is runaway climate change,” and continued by saying, “A rise in ocean temperature would melt the ice-caps, and cause a release of large amounts of carbon dioxide from the ocean floor. Both effects could make our climate like that of Venus, with a temperature of 250 degrees.”

Did you hear about this on the news? It’s not very entertaining, is it? It was not widely covered because the media outlets do not have a big enough audience for this discourse; you know, something as insignificant as the destruction of our planet.

            Instead of concerning ourselves with the scientific studies and opinions of one of the greatest minds of our generation, we focus on the words and actions of a man who throws a ball for a living. Mr. Kaepernick may very well be an intelligent man. I know nothing of his education other than he was awarded a BA in business management from the University of Nevada, which he attended on a football scholarship. Many great intellects have never attended a single day of college and I am not putting into question his intelligence. I don’t know much about him other than his football talents, of which he has many and is truly gifted. What I do know is that he makes his living on the field with those talents and off the field by his endorsement and merchandising contracts. He is what we, as a society, seem to consider a role model for youngsters, a talented athlete who is entertaining to watch, and now someone we want to mock and degrade simply for standing (well…excuse the pun) for a principle. I personally respect any person’s right to express their opinions, whether I agree or disagree. If one is truly patriotic, that must be his opinion as well; a true “patriot” must respect the First Amendment.

            With all of that being said, here is the crux of the problem: The most brilliant man in the world told us our planet is doomed unless we make significant changes quickly. Three months later, an athlete refused to stand for the national anthem, a right afforded him by the U.S. Constitution. Why are we expending so much energy debating the actions of an entertainer while ignoring the warnings of a genius? Dr. Hawking sits all of the time; he has no choice.