I have great respect for the men and women that have fought for

Hear the words of Colin Kaepernick, who declared with reverence and fire: “I have great respect for the men and women that have fought for this country. I have family, I have friends that have gone and fought for this country. And they fight for freedom, they fight for the people, they fight for liberty and justice, for everyone.” In this confession we hear the ancient heartbeat of sacrifice, the acknowledgment that the blessings of peace and freedom are not born of chance, but are purchased with courage, with pain, and with blood.

The meaning of his words is layered. Kaepernick, though known for raising his voice against injustice, speaks here with humility, reminding us that his actions are not in contempt of soldiers, but in recognition of them. His respect is not bound only to kin or to comrades but to all who take up the heavy mantle of service. He names their cause—freedom, people, liberty, and justice—as the sacred ideals for which they fought. These are not mere abstractions, but the very pillars upon which nations stand. By affirming them, he binds his own struggle for justice to the sacrifices of those who bore arms before him.

The origin of such words lies deep in the traditions of all peoples, for across time men and women have risen from their fields and homes to defend their lands and values. From the hoplites of Greece to the legions of Rome, from the revolutionaries of America to the liberators of Europe, the story of civilization has been shaped by those who left the safety of hearth to preserve the freedom of others. Kaepernick, as one who speaks in modern times, recalls this timeless heritage: that those who fight for liberty carry not only weapons but the hopes of their people.

History offers countless testimonies. Consider the soldiers of World War II, who crossed stormy seas and braved enemy fire not for wealth or conquest, but to halt the march of tyranny. On the beaches of Normandy, young men from distant farms and crowded cities alike laid down their lives so that others might live free. Their courage was not for themselves alone but for the unborn generations. In their sacrifice we see embodied the very ideals Kaepernick names—freedom, liberty, justice for all.

Yet the emotional power of his words lies not only in honoring the soldier, but in challenging us to remember what they fought for. For what good is the sacrifice of blood if the people for whom it was shed are denied the liberty promised to them? To respect the fighters is not only to salute their uniforms, but to carry forward their mission: to ensure that justice truly reaches all, and that freedom is no empty word but a lived reality. In this way, Kaepernick reminds us that the truest way to honor the fallen is to labor for the ideals they died defending.

The lesson here is weighty: respect must be more than words. It must be embodied in action, in striving for a society worthy of the sacrifices made for it. To honor the dead is to defend the living. To salute the soldier is to ensure that no man or woman in the land they defended suffers oppression or injustice. The burden is not theirs alone, but ours, to guard what they purchased with their blood.

Therefore, let your actions reflect this teaching. Stand in gratitude for those who served, but do not let gratitude become complacency. Work in your community for fairness. Raise your voice against wrongs. Teach your children the stories of sacrifice, not so they glorify war, but so they understand the cost of liberty. And above all, live in such a way that those who died for freedom would not see their blood wasted.

And so, remember always the words of Kaepernick: “They fight for freedom, they fight for the people, they fight for liberty and justice, for everyone.” Do not narrow those words. Do not hoard freedom for the few. Make them true in your own time, for in doing so you honor the soldiers of the past and become a guardian of the future.