Summary Of My Father Stood For The National Anthem

Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit during the national anthem has stirred many discussions throughout the country, and many have debated the rightness or wrongness of his action. Kaepernick said, in regard to remaining seated, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color” (Wyche).
As he has done this, many Americans, including myself, feel that his choice to sit is disrespectful and ungrateful. He has disrespected a symbol of our nation, a symbol that represents those of all ethnicity and gender that have fought to keep our country free. It is a symbol that represents the progress toward liberty and justice for all. It is a symbol that is written on the hearts of Americans. For me, every time I hear the words “Please stand for our national anthem”, I think of the music. I think of the times that I have been able to honor my country by playing The Star Spangled Banner and I experience a consuming feeling of pride inside my heart.
Keith Woods tells the story of his father. His father was one of the many “oppressed black people” that Kaepernick refers to, yet he had immense pride in his country. Woods claims that his father wouldn’t have like Kaepernick. He says:
“Daddy would have fixed him in a stare that could freeze the blood in your veins. Then, to no one in particular — but to everyone within earshot — he'd give the young man a two-sentence lesson in patriotic