The United States is, and always has been, a country of pride, power and opportunity. Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, people and their nations look at the United States flag and immediately think of freedom and the American dream. Many have not lost that belief in America, but as for others, well, let’s just say they have used the flag and national anthem as a way to express their opinions on matters that simply share no connection with the stripes and stars, or a song written by Francis Keys on a boat in the middle of warfare.

It is pathetic, and I feel as if this is the right time to express my opinion on the matter.

My main focus of this article will be kneeling and sitting during the national anthem, especially in professional sports. The issue of kneeling during the national anthem started with one specific player — Colin Kaepernick. I’m sure anyone with any social media or with a TV has heard about Kaepernick using the national anthem and his national presence to express his feelings towards racism. I do not want to go into much detail on Kaepernick and his reasoning behind it, but I want to instead go more on how I feel about any player kneeling or sitting during the national anthem. To me, it is so pointless and is beyond disrespectful.

First things first, all of the players of the NFL kneeling or sitting not only live in the United States but also make millions upon millions of dollars playing a sport that is only played in America.

If you do not like it, get out.

Do not disrespect the flag or an anthem behind the country that feeds your family and gives you work, because if your only talent is football, good luck playing it anywhere else but the United States.

Also, what about the armed forces? When I see an NFL player kneeling during the national anthem, I take offense in thinking about all the men and women who sacrifice their lives on a daily basis to protect us and to keep America and its people safe. Kneeling during the national anthem to me is the weakest protest ever created.

That probably explains why the person who started all of this nonsense is jobless right now, and honestly, he deserves that.

The American flag does not represent racism or police brutality, but rather it represents the people who fought for, gained and kept our independence in order to keep the United States as the land of opportunity. If you want to make a stand about racism or police brutality as stated before, then take a poster board with a yard stick and march around Washington, write a book, or go on TV.

Please stop kneeling or sitting during the national anthem because you are not protesting against anything; you just look pathetic and disrespectful to the country that offered you the opportunity to be who you are.