It has been argued that Colin Kaepernick kneeling while the National Anthem is playing, is absolutely ridiculous, is not showing support for love of this country, and not showing support to the veterans. In “The Perilous Fight,” Jim Brown, a NFL Hall of Famer and a civil rights activist. Told Time, “I would not do anything that has to do with respecting the flag or the national anthem. I don’t think it’s appropriate.” In other words Jim Brown would challenge the normal of standing for the Anthem, no matter the severity of the situation. For this reason opponents argue that Colin Kaepernick kneeling down is not right for him to be testing the flag; but it’s not also right for the police of America to be able to go on a killing spree and have…
Keith Woods told his story by saying what the flag and national anthem means to him and his family. To the Woods family not standing shows disrespect to them and shows that you do not care for those who risked their lives to keep us safe. I feel that people should stand for the national anthem even if you do not like what is going on in the country. It shows respect to those who…
The take a knee movement is not the first protest the National Anthem has seen, it is just the latest in a long history of “unpatriotic behavior.” Perhaps the most infamous protest was a result of the black power salute held by Tommie Smith and John Carlos in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, “they didn’t [take a knee]. Instead they raised a fist” (Brown). The Civil Rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s were a time of upheaval for various minority groups of American society, including the black rights movement. Holding a fist instead of placing a hand over the heart got the gold and bronze medals respectively strip from Smith and Carols, for calling attention to real problems that still exist in our country. These brave men “wore beads and a scarf to protest lynchings. And when the national anthem was played, they lowered their heads in defiance and raised their fists in a Black Power salute that rocked the world” (Brown). These acts of defiance have set a stage for other individuals to speak out again the injustice plaguing our society. The downplay of such circumstances is unpatriotic and inhumane, more so than refusing to stand during the National…
Imagine being penalized for performing an action within the rights of all American citizens. Athletes are being punished for using their platform and not standing for the National Anthem. However, standing for the anthem is not a required action American citizen must do by law. Standing for the national anthem is an acti9n U.S. citizens are expected to do. However, athletes are not standing for the anthem to make a political statement about a belief. Furthermore, athletes should have a choice to stand for the National anthem without being…
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america…” ~Francis Bellamy, the pledge of allegiance. It is an iconic american poem. But there are some fundamental problems with the pledge that should stop it from being recited in schools. There is the fact that it has the line “...under god…” which is a problem with religious liberties. Then there is the original purpose of the pledge, a marketing campaign fueled by racism. Lastly it is a practice in nationalistic indoctrination. Students in the United States should not rehearse the pledge of allegiance.…
The document I have read, States’ Rights, Depending on the Issue by Albert R. hunt has many different topics and many different views. I have decided to pick the topic of the Southern Confederacy flag being flown in many southern states. The two points that this article offers about the Southern Confederacy flag is that, the flag may be flown because it is to the closest government's decision to decide, which is yes, and or that flag should not be flown because of what it “really” stands for according to many African American citizens, a racist sign of hatred towards their people. This topic has recently been extremely popular because some people call it “patriotism of their local region” and some consider it “a racist reminder that brought African Americans a time of unjust pain and neglection.” Overall, this topic remains such a problem because there are not only two views, but those views are not just different because of saying who's right or wrong, but it is a stand point of saying yay or nay of violence towards African American citizens during America’s pastime.…
The confederate flag should not be banned because it’s not about people being racist, it’s about the slavery and our hairitage. The confederate flag has been around since the civil war.…
The Confederacy was established in 1860, after South Carolina first seceded from the union, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. This was one of the reasons that started the Civil War in America. The Confederacy had the same laws as the Union, however, the Union was much more industrialized, while the Confederacy still relied on farms and slave labor (Confederacy). This led to the common thought that the Confederacy is racist, which caused hatred for the Confederate Flag. Most argue the Confederate flag is a symbol for slavery and should be banned, however, not only are the reasons for banning it wrong, this also violates the first amendment, freedom of speech.…
The legal side of the pledge of allegiance, it has been brought up to the supreme court more then one separate occasion. “The state’s Supreme Judicial Court is currently weighing an atheist couple’s argument that the words “under God” be struck from the Pledge of Allegiance, because they claim the phrase is exclusionary to atheist children like theirs” (Let’s End the Pledge of Allegiance in Schools). Again, going back to the history, the original version of the pledge of allegiance had no stating of religion. When Francis Bellamy added “under God” into the pledge, what he didn't realize is that it was violating peoples freedom of religion and was to be used in public school systems across the country. It sparked a world wide debate that is…
How would you feel if you were told to take down something, or ban something with so much history, education, and expression? This might make you feel angry, uncomfortable, and sad. Banning the confederate symbol is just wrong. Why would they want to take away something with so much meaning?…
In America, we are founded upon the rules and guidelines provided by our Constitution, but those rules and guidelines are constantly open to your own interpretation. When certain conflicts arise, we turn to our Constitution for admonition. But where do the provisions of our Constitution end? In the articles “Texas v. Johnson: Majority Opinion” and “American Flag Stands for Tolerance”, the issue of whether or not the First Amendment allows for people to use the burning of the American flag as a form of protest—but one does it better than the other.…
Individual rights in anthem was very scarce for everyone except the people on top of the power pyramid. For Equality, all he had was the right to live, breath, sleep and eat but even those last two were forced at certain times of the day. In society, many people take advantage of other things they consider individual rights. The biggest individual right that we have that Equality didn’t is the right to be free.…
One knight created all this chaos. He stood up to his whole nation to defend his race by kneeling humbly. He believed that blacks were still treated unequally in the U.S. today. It started on August 14th, 2016. One man against a whole nation. During the national anthem before an NFL game, he knelt in protest. It was a peaceful and quiet form of protest. People started yelling at him, calling him a traitor and others wanted him to be punished. The people of the United States have the right to protest during the national anthem because it is protected by their 1st Amendment rights.…
It is unjust to threaten or force an individual into an action, especially when they think it is wrong. In the town of Newington, half of the Girls’ High School Varsity Volleyball Team kneeled during the National Anthem. At a town panel, one of the players testified as she was one of the ones who knelt. " ’I took a knee to protest police brutality against African Americans. Too many people have been killed unjustly and without reason," Ricon said.…
Throughout history there have been many amazing and emotional protest songs that have brought people together with the goal of creating a change in society. An example of one of those songs is the song “Be Free” by J. Cole. Throughout the live performance of the song, “Be Free”, the artist J. Cole shows his emotion about what it is he is singing about. The song was a very effective and popular protest song because of the meaning of the song, the lyrics in the song, and that fact that it helped bring people who were feeling discriminated against, in order to create a social change in society and the world.…