Stand for America
When talking about political issues, it is important to thoroughly understand both sides of the argument on a certain topic. In whatever issue you choose to speak upon, you must identify all of the facts and details to make the best possible decision to better your political values. This is what makes our beliefs grow and metamorphosis. This even allows them to change when we critically think about them and when we go deeper into every tiny little detail. The people of America have different political values and a variety of beliefs. We are diversified. I believe this is what makes America so great. We all have the freedom to express our own opinions even when they might go against many other beliefs. So when we talk about standing (or not) for the national anthem we can expect the people of America to have different opinions on what they believe to be right. I understand how important it is when talking to people about certain topics that we keep how we feel about the topic away and that ultimately, we keep our biased opinions to ourselves. I also know that biased opinions are inevitable no matter how much we try to steer clear of them. So with that said, let's break this down and go into the depths of this political issue.
To properly analyze this issue, we must start from the beginning. On October 14th, 2016 Colin Kaepernick (a player in the NFL) took a knee during the national anthem. There was a period of time that lasted about two weeks when nobody noticed. Then, all of a sudden, he was questioned in an interview where he eventually told the public why he took a knee during the national anthem. Once the public figured out, some people hated him automatically. This sparked huge debates on whether or not this was morally and/or politically right. Colin Kaepernick had several goals for this specific kneel: he did this to raise awareness of racism and police brutality, he wanted to show that he could express his freedoms, and finally, he wanted to show his opposition to United States President, Donald Trump's policies. Now let's get into why Colin decided to perform this protest. First, Police Brutality... “Police brutality is defined as the use of excessive physical assault or verbal assault during police procedures, such as apprehending or interrogating a suspect. It is one of several forms of police misconduct that involves undue violence by police members. Widespread police brutality exists in many countries and territories, even those that prosecute it. Although illegal, it can be performed under the color of law.” (1) With that being said we can conclude that police brutality can and will come in several different forms which most often times is verbal or physical. We also learn that it is usually expressed or placed upon races of the minority. Colin was fed up with the stories and reports of the black community being treated poorly. He was ready to start a movement that would hopefully make changes to that. And this is the way he decided to do just that.
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It is often considered a tradition that people of all sports in the United States play the National Anthem before the game, usually placing their right hand over their heart as they sing along. That being said, Colin is not a player that does things because he has to. Colin is not a rule follower, in fact, he's not a follower at all. He is a player that will do what he thinks is right even if people will look down upon him for it. He is a leader. He was fed up with the way people were being treated. He was tired of seeing police exercise their rights as an officer unjustly and inhumanely. Police Brutality is a problem that has been around for a long time. The history of police brutality goes as follows, “ Police brutality has historically been perpetrated against individuals in lower socioeconomic levels and the socially marginalized, commencing with worker strikes in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Police brutality was permitted against citizens who challenged big industries. Police brutality was used to oppress labor strikes. Also, police would brutalize working-class people and arrest them without cause. Police brutality was also a common occurrence during the civil rights era when activists would be sprayed down with water hoses and attacked by police dogs.”(2) This clearly shows us that not only is police brutality a problem, but that it has been for a long time and still it is without an absolute solution. Colin believes that we have not searched hard enough for this solution. Solutions can come in many ways, shapes, and forms. They may come in the most unexpected of times which means we the people have to stay ready to pounce at even the slightest chance for change for the better. There is a significant problem with the way people are racist deep down at their core. And that problem is one that will not go away easily. The racism is so far deep down in their roots and this is no surprise because it is simply the way they were raised. That is a problem that we have searched for the solution to long and hard, and still, are nowhere near close to finding the solution. But once we get over this racism, we still have the fact that some people are violent to their very core. They are aggressive and are not afraid to place this aggression on anyone. We must put these cops away and make sure they are never put in this position ever again. A position where many things slide; a position where few things will raise suspicion. A position where you can hit and sometimes even kill someone without seeing any jail time.
With that said, we still do not know how much this affects us today. In modern times, Police Brutality has run ramped. A recent event that involves this police brutality would be, “Race was suspected to play a role in the shooting of Michael Brown in 2014. Brown was an unarmed 18-year-old African American who was shot by Darren Wilson, a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri after Brown attacked the officer, tried to grab his gun, and came back toward him. The predominantly black city erupted after the shooting. Riots following the shooting generated much debate about the treatment of African-Americans by law enforcement towards him. The predominantly black city erupted after the shooting. Riots Following the shooting generated much debate about the treatment of African-Americans by law enforcement.”(3) This simply shows us that police brutality is very real and needs to be stopped. I do believe certain people might overreact to certain things, but there is always some truth when you look deeper. If that man was white would he have been shot? If he was the President's son, would he have been shot? The answer is no, he would not have been. How can we say that all men are created equal and then not live by this? This was just one of the problems Colin was trying to bring to the surface.
Colin also wanted to show that he has the freedom to kneel during the national anthem. The Bill of Rights is a good way to show you these rights upfront that Colin was proving he could use.
“Amendment 1
- Freedom of Religion, Speech, and the Press
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment 5
- Protection of Rights to Life, Liberty, and Property
No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
Amendment 9
- Other Rights Kept by the People
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”(4) Although there are many more amendments, these were the rights that Colin was showing he was willing and able to use. Colin was infuriated by the way minorities were being treated. He wanted to show that he was not okay with it. 'I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,' Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. 'To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.'(5) This clearly shows how upset Colin was. He wanted to make a change to the way these people were being treated and decided to make influence it. His being this famous NFL player gave him a chance to make a huge statement because he knew so many people would be witness to this kneel. With that being said there is still one more reason that Colin took his seat during the National Anthem. Colin was upset with the policies United States President, Donald Trump was putting on the nation. One of these policies, “foreign policy of the Donald Trump administration includes a focus on security, by fighting terrorists abroad and strengthening border defenses and immigration controls.”(6) Colin Kaepernick knew there would be opposition to this specific kneel. He knew that people around the world would react very differently to his actions. What he did not know was that he would lose his job and become a free agent for years following the kneel. “ Kaepernick, who played in Super Bowl XLVII for the San Francisco 49ers in 2013, lost his job in 2016 after taking a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice in America, sparking the controversial #TakeAKnee movement(7) Colin will most likely never see the field ever again and even if he does, he has missed some of the most valuable time of his career because he decided to stand up for what he thought to be right. The one thing that Colin could take away from this is that he had started a movement. This movement was named the #takeaknee movement. This caught the attention of the public and soon some of his own teammates started taking a knee with him. Colin had started something that was starting to catch on and soon even players from a variety of teams started taking a knee following in Colin's lead. I believe we need more people like Colin, people who are not afraid of what will happen, people who will always stand for what they want, and people who are actually willing to make a difference. But I do not believe that Colin did this the right way. Colin needed to make his opposition clear. He needed to be more sophisticated in what he was upset with. When I first heard that someone had taken a seat during the National Anthem I was extremely upset. I thought he was bringing down our military when really this had nothing to do with the military. He was not upset with the military, he was upset with the way that minorities were being treated. If he would have made this clear, more people would have agreed with him and more people would still have respect for him. Sadly, people took this kneel as an insult to the country. When Colin took this knee at an NFL football game he was continuously booed every time he took the field. He also wore socks that had police officers looking like pigs showing how corrupt he truly believed them to be. But when it comes down to it, I believe that Colin did not do the right thing. We as Americans must be proud of our nation even if we don't agree on all the rules and regulations. People have fought hard for this country and even though it isn't perfect, it is worth standing for. Colin disrespected everything we as Americans value when he decided to not stand for our anthem. One of Collins's teammates says, “People fought and died for our country. They did that so we would have the right to do what we did: speak out against wrong things and try to change them,” Reid said. “It hurts that the message has been totally twisted and that Colin, who helped get us [the movement] going for all the right reasons, and who has put up his own money and done so much to help people in different ways, is being called a radical. They’re saying he’s un-American and worse. What we have to do now is keep reinforcing what the protest is really about. We have to get back to that.” Now more than ever.”(8) And I would agree with Reid to a certain extent, but I do not agree that Colin did this in the best way that he could. When you sit down for the national anthem that disrespects everything that the country stands for. That shows that you don’t care what the people of this nation have fought for. It shows that he couldn’t care less about this country. Colin had a good reason to make an effort to try and help with the problems he was seeing. But the way that he did it is not okay and will never be okay. Colin is doing the right thing by spreading out his money and trying to make a difference, so I have respect for him for that reason.
In conclusion, we must understand that life is all about making a change, but we have to make a change in the right way. When we desire a new way of life we must strive for it and try with all we have to make this happen. This is what makes America so great. We are all different with very different opinions. We have different ways that we see things, but we must stand together as one. We must never disrespect the lost lives trying to make a better life for us. We must never forget our fallen soldiers and what these people have done for us. At the end of the day, when we are all on our deathbeds. It isn't going to matter how much money you have, but more about the impact that we put on the world. This is our legacy, the only thing that stays when our souls move on.
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