's Not Only Unpatriotic, It's Ignorant, By Kris Kobach

Kris Kobach, author of “…[It’s] Not Only Unpatriotic, It’s Ignorant,” infers that “taking a knee” instead of the traditional hand-over-heart salute during the National Anthem is unpatriotic and that the protest itself is meaningless. The article was published by Breitbart, a far right “opinion and commentary” website. Publications have included many false claims and flat out conspiracy theories, as well as stories that cater to the audience’s very conservative point of view. One of Breitbart’s many contributors and the primary author of the piece, Kobach, allows for his far-right views to sway his readers in the direction he chooses to point them. While there is no immediate biography of Kobach on the Breitbart website, a simple Google
There are no sources, only implications that he commencement of a sporting event is and always has been the National Anthem. According to Oliva B. Maxman of Time, “The earliest documented performance…occurred on May 15, 1862 [although] hiring a band was a big enough cost that the anthem was saved for “special occasions” like opening day.” The Star-Spangled Banner was not in existence until 1814 and, as previously stated, did not make an appearance at a sporting event until 1862. Therefore, the National Anthem did not become a “tradition,” as Kobach continually stated it, until well after its initial writing. A tradition is not born in one night and the same can be said about the National Anthem being played at sporting
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