That really is the question these days. Can you really see what's going on?
What was once a silent protest that actually cost a guy his job has somehow morphed into an episode of everyone's favorite reality show "WhiteHoused!"
The guy was Colin Kaepernick, a quarterback in the NFL who sat down during the playing of the National Anthem. He did it a couple of games before reporters even noticed.
When asked, he explained he was protesting the killing of unarmed black men by police by not standing for the anthem. He would continue to do so until he felt the country was reflecting what the flag stood for.
Colin's natural mother was white, his father was black. He was raised by white adoptive parents. None of that matters, I'm just pointing it out.
At the end of the season, he was cut from the team. He has not been rehired by any NFL team.
That's pretty much the story. You can agree with him or not. I agree that there are too many Americans killed by police officers, of all skin colors. The very obvious cases of police over-reaction Kaepernick referred to are clear and I think his stand is right.
But that doesn't mean I agree with his method. I'm not offended, I just think it's counter-productive.
People go crazy over the flag. The instant you do something seen as disrespectful to the flag, the last thing they're going to do is pay attention to the very real and righteous cause you are trying to draw attention to.
Which brings us to this episode of WhiteHoused. While a few NFL players were observing their own silent protests, the hubub of Kaepernick and his lack of employment obviously due to his protest had died down.
But Mueller keeps getting closer, and Puerto Rico is under water, and his entire staff is using private email servers, and the latest Healthcare Bill is a fiasco so the Divider in Chief had to divert attention to the only thing that could make him feel better. Donald Trump.
The Donald did what the Donald does best, pick an issue and make it about him. He needed a little love from his still deluded base so he ginned up some good racist edged patriotism.
Those white guys waving confederate and nazi flags weren't disrespecting the flag like those uppity rich dark skinned athetes taking a knee. Why doesn't the NFL fire all those sons of dogs (remember, this is a family newspaper)?
Never mind the 1st Amendment, this is about ratings. And as long as 30 or so percent of our great nation's voters are delusional, he'll get the ratings. Just look at your Facebook feed.
On Sunday I went to a bar-b-que joint in Hazard before going to hear Tyler Childers and the Drive-By Truckers play true great American music. The restaurant had many televisions but not one was on an NFL game. A couple were showing soccer.
When we allow a U.S. president to goad us into watching soccer instead of football, we might as well just claw our eyes out. No, we can't see at all.