One of the values that I pride myself most in is my desire to work hard, succeed and make something of myself. You could say I formed my aspirations in accordance with how I was raised, but I always thought it was a basic concept for everyone. Looking at my Millennial generation compared to when my parents were younger is like looking at a completely different era. I suppose this can be seen as both good and bad.

With the invention of new modern-day technology, we are able to ride hover boards down the streets, access the Internet extremely quickly and send instant messages within 0.1743 milliseconds. Although we have these useful changes, I believe that we have forgotten the value of what it means to be American.

One of the main issues that I believe our society disregards is the position of authority. Whether that position means your parents, elders or even the police, the lack of respect that our society has is absolutely outrageous. The amount of people I hear saying “f*ck the police” makes my heart sick. These police officers go through extensive training in order to protect our country, uphold the law and keep citizens safe. I know that I can’t avoid the evidence that there are bad cops. We can’t avoid that fact that there are probably 90% good police officers and about 10% bad. I know that there is a breach in the system, and we must do everything we can to diminish that tear between what is good and what is bad.

The main idea that I am trying to project is that our generation does not care. They think that they are above the law, which justifies them to be exempt from following the law. The same thing is seen with family and older relatives. People will disrespect no matter who the authoritative holder is. Children will disrespect their parents for something as simple as not buying them something that they wanted. It is the ungrateful attitude that leads children towards disrespect and disgraceful attitudes towards authority.

The other issue that I have seen with our society is that with Colin Kaepernick. As most people probably know, Kaepernick is a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. He, along with many others, decided to express their right to protest the racial oppression and inequality in the United States by kneeling during the National Anthem and to the American flag.

I will start by saying that I do believe that there is injustice towards certain races within the United States. I do support Kaepernick’s right to protest. What I do not support is the method in which he did it. I understand that this is a way to get people’s attention, but if those people are anything like me, it caused negative attention.

By kneeling during the National Anthem, they are incoherently protesting against the American flag. By protesting the American flag, these players are not protesting against the people they feel who are treating them unjustly, the discrimination, or the oppression that they are experiencing. By protesting the National Anthem and flag, they are disrespecting the United States military, active duty, veterans, reserves, and all those who fought for this country and lost their lives. These people have absolutely no part of the injustices creating oppression and discrimination in America today. The American flag represents our nation’s bravest and selfless people who proudly accept the American name. The American flag does not represent the police officers or the injustice that these players are trying to protest.

The way in which these players are conducting their protest is a disgrace to those who fought and died with honor so that they can live their life of success. I believe in their right to protest, but I wish it would be done in a different manner instead of disrespecting our services. This could be done is such a way as uniting together on the field, arm in arm, in order to show the people that they stand strong in what they believe.

I know there will be hundreds, maybe thousands of people who disagree with my opinion, but that is OK. I stand true to my values and what I believe is right and wrong. I believe that our society today is extremely flipped from what I was raised to believe. I will continue to work towards my dreams, respect my authority, say my yes mam’s and no sir’s and stay true to my American flag. God bless America.