Kaepernick 'Standing Up' for His Beliefs

Kaepernick Creates Controversey

America, the home of the free, because of the brave.

The Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem are two salutes to America as a country, as well as those who serve our country, putting their lives at risk, so those at home can live without fear. When Colin Kaepernick, previous San Francisco 49ers quarterback, sat during the National Anthem in 2016, it sparked controversey in America. Should Kaepernick keep politics away from family oriented football? Should he stand up for what he believes in? The questions can go on and on, but only you can decided, based on personal opinions, did Colin Kaepernick do the right thing?

Living in a country that has been fighting a war on terror since I can remember, it pains me to see Americans not taking pride in their country and those who protect our freedom. Many individuals, including some of my friends and family, have/are putting their life at risk to protect those who are living in the states, such as Kaepernick, you, and I. 

Without hearing Collin Kaepernicks side of the story, just seeing a football player disrespecting the country is irritating because he lives in the United States, plays football for a living, makes $11.9 million dollars a season, but cannot stand for a few minutes while the National Anthem plays. Meanwhile, there are millions of troops, men and women in service fighting against terror, putting their lives at risk, waking up each day unaware if it will be their last, making not nearly half as much as Kaepernick. 

To those who have immediate family deployed, stationed, or even retired, it is extremely disrespectful to sit during the few minutes before each game where those who are defending the United States are honored. Families go to sleep each night worried about their family in the Middle East, praying when they wake up, that they are still alive. It hits home when privileged Americans, such as Kaepernick do not stand for a few minutes for those who allow him to live the life he does. 

On the other hand, it is wrong to assume Colin Kaepernick is sitting for the sole purpose of disrespect for those who defend our country. Heres what Kaepernick has to say about his kneeling during the National Anthem: 

In this interview, a new interruption of the story is being told. It is no longer just a privileged football player sitting out of disrespect, he is taking a stand for those in America who are too small to do it themselves. It is not out of disrespect to the troops, in fact, Kaepernick states, that he has family and friends in the military, "they fight for freedom, they fight for the people, liberty, and justice for everyone, and thats not happening". Kaepernick states that he will continue to sit until the country represents people of America, the way they deserve to be. He is taking a 'stand' against the police brutality and the injustice that takes place in this country. 

Kaepernick continues his interview by stating that "I am seeing things happen to people who don't have a voice, who don't have a platform to talk and have their voices heard, and effect change".

Using this platform of celebrity status brings attention to a horrible epidemic happening in America. 

After watching the interview, learning how Kaepernick feels about those defending our country, and why he decided to take a stand, I feel like he did the correct thing. Attention is needed to be brought to this subject. It is 2017, in the United States, and still, equality and freedom for all is not present.

The violence of police brutality, riots, white supremacy groups, terror attacks, it is as if the nation as jumped in a time machine and is going back years, to when each individual was not treated with the same respect and dignity as the next. It is up to us as Americans to come together and overcome the hate and segregation. 

In the wise words of Ronald Regan, we must remember we are one nation as a whole, and if we forget that, then we will fail as a whole, leaving the United States of America in the same condition it was in during the Civil War in 1861.

I leave you with this...

How Ending Quote in "Do the Right Thing" Speaks About Doing The "Right" Thing

Every human is held to a certain standard to do the "right" thing in all situations, but what is the so called, "right" thing to do? In the film, Do the Right Thing, written by Spike Lee, the characters are faced with controversial situations that leave the audience questioning if they are doing the "right" thing. 

The film ends with two controversial quotes, one about love, by Martin Luther King, Jr. and the other about hate, by Malcolm X, love and hate being a binary motifs throughout the script.

In the script, Radio Raheem explains to Mookie what his four finger rings stand for. Radio Raheem says, "one hand is always fighting the other" (p. 45). There is never going to be a time where one individual or group of people are at peace and have nothing to complain about. Radio Raheem continues his explanation with the statement "..if I love you I love you, if I hate you..." (p. 46). Radio Raheem basically  is stating he does not tolerate people, he either is all for someone, or all against them. But when is it acceptable to show different levels of love and hate? The characters in Do The Right Thing experience these situations within each encounter they have with another individual.

"...I have to preserve the right to do what is necessary to bring an end to that situation, and it doesn't mean that I advocate violence, but at the same time I am not against using violence in self-defense. I don't even call it violence when it is self-defense, I call it intelligence" - Malcolm X 

The quote by Malcolm X is displayed at the end of the film, after the violence and riot acts of the citizens of Brooklyn. The citizens of a majority black community, Brownstone, were raging with anger when Radio Raheem was killed in police custody. The community felt that the only way to get back and get their point across was by violence. The only way to protect themselves, defend themselves was with violence. The people of color living in this Brooklyn  community wanted to end the situation, they are sick of seeing their own community being singled out, targeted, and murdered.

Though this was not necessarily the "right" way to react to the death of a well known neighborhood friend, it is what the characters in Do the Right Thing believed was the correct thing to do. 

Each person has a different idea of the "right" way to act, or what to do in a situation based on their individual beliefs and morals. Though one may believe what they are doing is the proper way to respond to a situation, the next person may think differently. To Malcom X, he believed violence as self-defense was the correct way to approach a situation that he wanted to put to an end, to Martin Luther King Jr, it was not the "right" thing to do since he believed "violence is immoral".