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The Star Spangled Banner Essay

All lives matter. No matter the color of skin, each life matters. In spite of many people believing this, race does not decide whether or not you get shot by a police officer. Colin Kaepernick is a national league football star who has taken protesting too far. Black lives matter is a great topic to protest against; nevertheless kneeling during the National Anthem is not okay. “The Star Spangled Banner” has been played at every sporting event since the first minor league football game. Choosing to sit now is plain and simple disrespect to America.

Colin Kaepernick is showing disrespect towards our United States veterans, furthermore, is an inadequate role model for the thousands of children watching him: he is acting unpatriotic toward America. Colin Kaepernick lacks to acknowledge that thousands of colored people have served in our military and police forces. He wants to protest because black people are not being treated equal, nonetheless he fails to realize he is disrespecting all the people who gave him his freedom. If he feels that the color of the skin is making a difference in how they are being treated, then why does he stay in this country?

The same country that “doesn’t treat colored people fairly” was the one who gave him a free ride to college and pays him twelve million dollars yearly to play a sport he likes. He doesn’t even have to play one down in a game and still gets paid. (Klemko p36) He should talk to the mothers, fathers, and children who have given their lives so he could disrespect this country he chooses to stay in. Colin Kaepernick had stated “I stopped standing during the song in the preseason as a way not to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. (Rosen) If he really feels like the United States oppresses people of color, as a result he should leave to another country. One of the NFL spokesmen stated that the National Anthem is required because they believe that there is tremendous value in coming together to honor our nation’s history, and also to remember the men and women who have built and protected our country. (Klemko p36) If he realized how painful it is to lose a loved one in the armed forces, there is no way he would want to disrespect our nation in such a manner. Our veterans have fought and fought to protect the United States so everyone could be free.

Kaepernick is just right to protest, in contrast, when he is disrespecting millions of fans, that is where he went wrong. Veterans of the United States have fought harder than anyone could imagine to save this country. They watch their best friends die every single day to make sure America stays free. Colin Kaepernick had chosen to do more than protest. He chose to disrespect our nation. Some military men may say it is fine and he can do whatever he chooses, however him kneeling is like telling them that their hard work meant nothing to him.

Since he chose not to stand, millions of people who have lost loved ones feel like he is saying their work meant nothing to him. (Borden) Veterans of the United States have done more than anyone could dream of to save our world. Kaepernick needs to realize how much disrespect he showed to all of the Veterans across America. Colin Kaepernick, being a professional football star, has millions of little children looking up to him. He should stand up to show the children of America how they should act.

He is totally right to protest, and that is a great topic to protest against; otherwise choosing to disrespect our nation and not standing for what the anthem actually means is not the way to go about protesting. He needs to think about the young children watching him. None of them are going to know the reason why he sat down. They are just going to think it’s cool, and want to be like him. There are several ways that one can protest that will not disrespect this country and all we stand for. Kaepernick needs to think about how many people were following his team: subsequently subtract all the fans they lost due to his actions.

Thousands of people, such as our nation’s veterans, refuse to watch the 49rs because of him. Many parents will not let their children watch them due to the unpatriotic acts Colin Kaepernick has shown. The NFL hired him to be a football star, even so with that responsibility he has to show patriotism to our nation. A person cannot be a teacher if they do not like children, just as he cannot be a role model if he does not set good examples. Children as young as kindergarten are taught that it is appropriate to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.

He is teaching them that it is okay to not listen and kneel whenever they want. If he wants to be a professional football player in America, he needs to show America some honor. (Rosen) It is unpatriotic to have an American refuse to stand when our flag is raised and our National Anthem is played. Men and women have died to protect your right to be free, the least someone can do is to honor them by standing.

“Title 36 of the U. S. Code states that during a rendition of the national anthem, when the flag is displayed, those present should stand facing the flag with their right hand ver the heart. ” (“Stand Up”) Kaepernick should have honored this code and found a different way to protest. He needs to respect our troops and all that they do for ignorant people who feel the need to disrespect America. (Gregory p17) Kaepernick tried to get others involved in his protest, but none felt it was appropriate. Another football star, Mike Jenkins, expressed “Me not standing for the national anthem is not really going to get the results that I want. I would rather be doing something in the community, talking to people who can actually make some change.

I think that is just my approach. But everyone has their own convictions. ” (Klemko p36) America, unlike European countries, does not have patriotic ideas built into it. We are united by beliefs, and that is why simple things, such as the anthem, carry more weight on people. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was sanctioned by the N. B. A. in 1996 when he didn’t stand for the anthem. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two American track stars, were kicked out of the Olympics after raising gloved fists on the medal podium. So, why does Kaepernick get to stay in the N. F. L. fter kneeling during the anthem? Colin Kaepernick is a biracial man born and raised in America. (Gregory p17) Due to being born and raised here in America, he should know better and honor our country. It is total disrespect to have him kneel when such an important circumstance for our country is playing. Our flag represents how we got where we are today. We had to fight for our freedom. Millions of men and women have died to give us the right to freedom. Kaepernick kneeling to the anthem is one of the most unpatriotic acts he could have done while our flag is being raised.

Several can say that he is right to protest “Black Lives Matter. ” In America there has been studies done to see if your race predicts if a police officer will shoot you. “Maybe the decision to pull you over was racially biased; maybe the decision to arrest you once you were pulled over was racially biased, but who a police officer kills or injures is probably more of a function of who resists arrest or who pulls out a knife or a gun,” (Oaklander). The race of the person has no effect on the outcome of the situation.

No matter if one is black, white, or colored, the police officer will only shoot if they feel threatened. The rate at which blacks and whites die due to police officers are equal. I do agree that black lives matter. On that same note though, so does everyone else’s lives. No matter color or gender, the life of a human matters. Colin Kaepernick has every right to protest and believe what he wants, at that same time he has no right to disrespect America in such ways. He can go and stand outside of the White House if he pleases. “Stand Up”) No American should kneel or sit when the anthem of our nation is playing.

Everyone protesting states that black people get killed by the police because of their skin color. Which is false. Police officers will only shoot the person when they feel endangered. (Oaklander) Race has no factor in whether or not one gets shot. Police officers only care about one thing when it comes down to taking a life: will there be less of a threat? Black lives, white lives, and colored lives all matter equally. Not one matters more than another. Colin chose a very touchy subject to protest against.

Many people will disagree with what he chose to protest, and most will disagree with how he decided to. Like Mike Jenkins had stated, you can pinch people’s nerves about it, or you can go out there and try to solve the problem. (Klemko p36) Colin Kaepernick should have gone back to his hometown and protested there. There is no justification that he should be disrespecting our nation in such an unpatriotic way. Colin Kaepernick is one of the star football players for the San Francisco 49ers who had the odasity to do such a disrespectful task. He kneeled during the “Star Spangled Banner.

Kaepernick has one of the most controversial topics to be protesting; black lives matter. With this being a touchy subject to many, him protesting in such an ungraceful manner makes the situation worse. Everyone has their own viewpoints on this topic. There is no problem with him protesting what he believes. The problem started when he decided to kneel at a preseason game. Kaepernick needs to find a new way to stand up for what he believes. He should go out into the community and change what he does not like, in contrast of acting childish and unpatriotic.

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