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Colin Kaepernick is a great quarterback, but he's wrong about disrespecting the symbols of our great country. He's trying to express a passion for a legitimate concern but he's only drawing negative attention to himself. And to all Americans. Iranians are burning our flag. Now Americans are burning Kaepernick's jersey. That's not progress.

You hear it all the time, "America is the greatest country on earth." It's true, it is. But there are problems. And they're getting worse. How much longer can we go on like this?

Our record with Native Americans and African Americans is disgraceful. Prejudice, discrimination, greed and injustice mar our course in history. But we keep trying to get it right, because we as a people are better than that. Our corporate government sometimes tries to lead us astray, but we the American people (you know who you are) keep trying to reel it in.

America is 240 years old. That's 1,680 dog years. Anything that old deserves respect.

Throw it a bone.

More appropriately, America is our sickly old grandma who needs our care and help. Or, our wayward teenager who needs our care, help and direction. Take your metaphorical pick. Either way, America is ours, our responsibility, it is in trouble and we all need to step up to the plate.

Every so often, seems more now than ever, a person, usually a misguided celebrity, or a group, band together and curse America. Mindlessly, symbolically. They turn their back on the flag, sit during the national anthem, curse our military, cross their fingers during the pledge. They riot, scream and shout. It's all they can think to do. Sometimes out of hopeless frustration. Sometimes out of IQ. Every generation has its beef. Every person has their gripe. Every cause has its champion.

In my view, we need more Dr. Martin Luther Kings and fewer Colin Kaepernicks.

When the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, they had no idea that they were providing the foundation of a free society and independent nation that would someday — through a lot of strife, blood, pain and sorrow — afford Kaepernick the opportunity to exercise and develop his talents unobstructed in our free society, with the tremendous freedoms guaranteed all Americans to think and say whatever he wants when and wherever he wants, and to disrespect the very core of his own good fortune.

In other words ... bite the hand that feeds him.

It's OK to criticize America. We're all here because of criticism. It was OK to criticize King George in 1770. It's OK to criticize President Obama today. That is progress.

It's OK to criticize Congress, government agencies, policies, politicians and patriots. It's our right and freedom to do so. They gave us that right and freedom. The founding fathers did — George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, John Jay — all of them.

The symbols of America's journey and heritage as a nation are to be respected. No, honored. Not burned, dragged through the mud or blasphemed. The flag, our national anthem, our history are not the object of Colin Kaepernick's anger. He just doesn't know how or have the time to address his anger appropriately. It is wrong of him to carpet bomb America's treasured and hard fought symbols. Maybe he can donate this year's salary to Black Lives Matter.

It is wrong of him to use his celebrity to disrespect America.

Look at it this way. Back to grandma ...

America is your old, sickly mother, stuck in a nursing home. She couldn't be in worse shape physically, emotionally, mentally. But spiritually, you still can see the gleam in her eye. You know she's still in there somewhere. She embodies hope. Unconditional love. She hopes she's done good by you. You know she has.

You can't make her young and healthy again, but you can go on in her name and memory, and espouse her values and sacrifices to make your life more meaningful and pass that life of dignity and integrity along to your children, and them to theirs and on and on.

So, in essence, she will never die, she just gets stronger by making you stronger to do what you have to do. And that is to survive. So that you can protect and provide. And keep America strong.

Go ahead and bash Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Vet them. Keep them honest. Go after them with a vengeance. The lying politicians, the incompetent administrators, the crooked government officials, corporate greed, prejudice, injustice. Don't let them disrespect your flag and country. Hold the flag up in front of them every day and challenge them to make it great and keep it great.

Or, let's throw the bums out, and vote some patriots in — New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers notwithstanding.

John Kushma is a communication consultant and a long-time resident of Logan.