When Dorothy Day took a knee | America Magazine

Linking of faith and flag goes back a long way.  The seal of Fordham says IHS.  that means In hoc signo vinces - In this sign you will conquer - the sign of the Cross.  That is said to have been the vision of the Emperor Constantine before the year 314 Battle of Milvian Bridge.  He did conquer and Christianity became the  religion of the  Roman empire.  Our emblem no longer evokes the military image, but that is its origin. - gwc
When Dorothy Day took a knee | America Magazine
by Robert Ellsberg

Ammon Hennacy, a courageous activist who joined the Catholic Worker in the 1950s, said he was inspired to become a Catholic by the example of Dorothy Day. Specifically, he referred to an occasion during Mass when the organist began to play “The Star Spangled Banner.” As everyone else stood up, Dorothy dropped to her knees in prayer. Dorothy did not like that story; she did not think that was the right reason to become a Catholic. But she did not dispute Ammon’s account. In his view, Dorothy’s action represented a courageous repudiation of the blurring of cross and flag (and sword) that went all the way back to Constantine.

I thought of Dorothy when I saw images of N.F.L. players “taking a knee” in protest during pre-game renditions of the national anthem this past weekend. Of course, the context is very different. Possibly, the players, who were protesting racism and making a gesture of defiance against a president’s provocative appeals to white nationalist grievance, did not exactly think that they were “praying.” But the symbolism of dropping to a knee in the midst of a patriotic ceremony would not be lost on Dorothy. Though not really a football fan, she would surely have understood and honored their protest.***