In today’s NFL, the drama starts before the opening kickoff. It begins with the first strains of the national anthem. A previously innocuous sports tradition has become a border crossing for beliefs and a Rubicon for conviction.

Thanks to San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick, the QB kneeldown has a whole new meaning.

All eyes will be on players during the national anthem on Sunday for the Patriots home opener at Gillette Stadium against the Miami Dolphins and in other stadiums around the NFL to see if the anthem is observed. The Dolphins had four players — Arian Foster, Kenny Stills, Michael Thomas, and Jelani Jenkins — who knelt during the anthem in Week 1. Jenkins has said he will stand on Sunday, now that he has brought attention to the issue.

There is an Albert Einstein quote that comes to mind when discussing some of the oft-regurgitated criticism that Kaepernick and his sympathizers taking a stand for civil rights by refusing to stand for the anthem have received — “Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.’’

The national anthem and the flag are both sacred symbols of this great country. But they are still merely symbols. It’s people that make those symbols meaningful.

The American flag shouldn’t be used as a shroud to cover up inequality. The national anthem shouldn’t be used to drown out civil rights concerns or to shout down citizens who feel they’re not being afforded liberty and justice for all.

Kaepernick’s protest is a bit of a Rubin’s vase. Do you only see someone failing to honor their country? Do you see an American trying to bring attention to social injustice? Do you see both?

Everyone from President Barack Obama to Hall of Fame baseball manager Tony La Russa has weighed in on Kaepernick using the anthem to make a political statement. It has forced us to confront vexing and nuanced feelings and issues.

It’s not that Kaepernick and fellow kneelers such as Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall and US women’s soccer player Megan Rapinoe are intentionally “disrespecting’’ military members and veterans with a peaceable protest.

Conflating their demonstrations with a lack of appreciation for veterans is an intellectual countermeasure that diverts attention away from a difficult conversation.

If we want to have a true discussion about disrespect for veterans, let’s talk about the 1.2 million black troops who served in the military during World War II. They received gratitude from their country in the form of continued discrimination, segregation, and degradation.

Where were the cries for respect for military members and veterans, my grandfather among them, then?

That treatment of veterans was far more disrespectful than taking a knee for the national anthem or raising a fist for unity — as Kansas City’s Marcus Peters did during the anthem and Patriots players Martellus Bennett and Devin McCourty did following it — last week.

(The raising of the fist does not signify black power. It symbolized unity in 1968, when Tommie Smith and John Carlos did it on the Olympic medal stand.)

Why wasn’t there this level of outrage about the shameful paid patriotism of NFL teams? Teams took money from the military and staged ceremonies to honor veterans and active military members that were more client services than an organic homage to those who served.

After a scathing Senate report, the NFL returned more than $723,000 that teams received for sponsored acts of patriotism at NFL games.

This is about the time that the angry “just stick to sports’’ e-mails start flooding my inbox.

It’s understandable that people don’t want activism or messages for social change invading their consumption of sports. Most people want to set their brain to sleep mode. Sports are an escape from reality for a few hours. But when the games are over, reality is still standing there. It never takes a knee.

Athletes have a platform that allows their message to be heard by a wider cross-section of people. It’s good to see that platform being used for meaningful issues rather than trivialities like hawking energy drinks.

By bringing up some of America’s warts and calling into question the country’s civil rights record, Kaepernick has been painted as anti-American, ungrateful, and disrespectful.

It’s interesting that a presidential candidate is using the campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,’’ which also implies that our more perfect union isn’t perfect.

A black athlete calls for change, questions the state of affairs in this country, and says America can be better. He is labeled as unpatriotic, whether it’s 1968 or 2016.

A presidential candidate calls for change, questions the state of affairs in this country, and says America can be better. It’s greeted as a clarion call, whether it’s 1980 or 2016.

It’s also puzzling that there has to be a dollar sign attached to the activism of athletes or it’s not legitimate in some eyes.

Kaepernick has pledged $1 million to unspecified organizations connected with civil rights. The 49ers also pledged $1 million to the Silicon Valley Foundation and San Francisco Foundation.

The other criticism that is specious that has been leveled against Kaepernick and his fellow anthem activists is that they’re creating a distraction that harms their teams.

Please.

Professional athletes are not doctors, EMTs, firefighters, or police officers — real heroes. All of professional sports is a distraction. Athletes are professional distractors.

Kaepernick was such a distraction to the 49ers that they beat the Los Angeles Rams, 28-0, last Monday.

There is no sport that espouses the distraction tripe quite like the NFL. The home office here in Foxborough specializes in it. Texting while driving is a serious distraction. Answering questions during a designated media period isn’t.

People don’t like what they hold hallowed being questioned.

There are few things Americans regard more sacred than NFL football, the national anthem, and the flag.

Kaepernick’s protest has struck a nerve by calling into question the unthinking reverence for all three.

Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @cgasper.