Facebook and Instagram feeds were filled with complaints about Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl 59 halftime show.
“Halftime show….. Nope!!!!”
“I would’ve rather see Lil Wayne.”
“Trash.”
“Boring!”
Other comments expressed even harsher and nastier anger I don’t need to repeat here.
I’d like to think most people were upset because Kendrick Lamar was challenging America on the largest television stage we have.
But alas, the comments largely missed the mark on what had transpired. People were mostly upset because they weren’t properly entertained.
It got lost on people that K-Dot’s performance was the biggest protest on American soil. Ever. In front of 203 million people!
The show started with the American Flag created by actual Black people, which a deeper dive reveals was raw symbolism how America was built on the backs of Black people.
Samuel L. Jackson dressed as Uncle Sam was there to represent the sanitized version of America. The one that makes us all comfortable. So long as you play the game the way you’re supposed to.
The “great American game,” as Jackson proclaimed.
The game Black people have to play to even get a chance at a semblance of acceptance in this country. To act like a caricature of someone.
“Too ghetto,” Jackson reminds Black people, sarcastically protesting how America tells people how they must act if they want a shot at the American dream. He was telling Lamar to act more white.
I could’ve done without the Drake part of the show, but the reason most people missed out on the bigger meaning of halftime is what ails us on most issues.
We no longer take time to critically think; to dive deeper on issues rather than hurling insults or knee-jerk responses.
We just want to be entertained.
We stopped taking time to research and think about things before we repeat nonsense. To humble ourselves into knowing we all can learn something new.
That maybe things we were taught as kids weren’t complete. Or sometimes false or misleading.
That instead of just repeating what you’ve been told, read a book. Or two.
We seem to not be able to listen to what others confront in their daily lives.
The truth it turns out has more nuances than can fit into a square on Instagram.
The complaints about the halftime show are the same reason why so many have joined the chorus against DEI now.
Really, you’re against diversity?
You’re against equity?
You’re against inclusion?
Or did you just jump on a bandwagon without truly thinking about what it all means. Without diving deeper into how the entire concept of diversity, equity and inclusion benefits us all.
Have you even thought about it more than a flash second?
Did you think, like everything, some things might need improvement while other things might be critically important for us? Or is it a simple non-thinking reaction.
I’m all for an intelligent debate and disagreement. It’s important to get to the best solutions by flushing out all the ideas. It’s the cornerstone of the First Amendment.
But when we engage on any topic without critical thinking, all we do is contribute to a more divided world rotating on an axis of misinformation and half-truths.
Now go back and watch the halftime show with a thinking mind.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of Jeffrey Kass' work on Medium.