The American Flag is a symbol for everything that the United States of America represents, has represented, and strives to represent. It is a symbol for America’s past, present, and future. In response to the National Anthem protests where professional athletes (among others) have knelt during the singing of the Anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice, many people have tried to say that they are disrespecting the troops and the flag. A lot of these people (not all) fall on the conservative side of the political spectrum. I wholeheartedly disagree with these people. First of all, these people are using the troops as a defense just to criticize those protesting while trying to diminish racial inequality in America. The most ridiculous thing about this is the fact that people in the military have defended players kneeling the Anthem and even knelt with them in solidarity. Also, players kneeling have said that they support the troops and the protests have nothing to do with them. Honestly, I shouldn’t have to say this.
Anyway, kneeling for the Anthem is the ultimate show of respect for the American Flag because the act of kneeling and peacefully protesting is a freedom afforded to us by the Constitution which is just one of the many things that the American Flag represents. In America, we can protest and bring attention to an issue that we believe is harming our country because that is one of our rights. So kneeling for the Anthem are the players saying, “We fought for freedom from tyrannical rule and we gave our citizens unalienable rights so they may fight for freedom without fear of reprisal from a tyrannical government. It is my right to fight for freedom against injustice.”
So, when you are celebrating Independence day this weekend, remember its significance and what we fought for in the late 1700's. Most importantly, remember that inequality still existed after we gained our independence. Slavery existed for another 90 years, and women could not vote for an additional 144 years. The Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Fair Housing Act, was passed nearly two centuries after the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. It's nice to recognize progress, but we also must be aware that we still have a long way to go.
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