Colin Kaepernick rocked the country a few weeks ago when he decided to stay firmly seated on the bench during the National Anthem before a game against Green Bay. Since then, his name, face, and the location of his butt have dominated news outlets over the course of multiple news cycles. Lots of people voiced outrage over Kaepernick’s demonstration. They called him a traitor. They called him un-American. They said he was disrespecting American veterans. But I think he was doing the most American thing that anyone can do - exercising the rights given to all of us by this nation.

Whether you think that what Kaepernick did was a good idea or not, he is completely within the confines of the law. In fact, he’s doing just what the law intends for American citizens to be able to do. It’s our laws that allow him to express his opinions through sitting through the National Anthem. It’s our laws that allow people to carry AR-15’s if they so please. It’s our laws that allow citizens to fly the Confederate Flag, despite it being the flag of an enemy country that was on the other side of the bloodiest conflict in American History. It’s our laws that allow people to practice the religion they want to practice, marry who they want to marry, and say what they want to say. Just because some people don’t agree what others do with their rights, doesn’t mean that they can demand someone like Kaepernick be stripped of their rights, or freedoms, or place in society.

Every day the American people reap the benefits of the rights this country afford us. They allow us to have control over our lives and how we move through them. They give us voices and power in the governmental system we take part in. With that voice, we can do quite a bit. We can encourage change. We can help steer the direction of our country. We can elect officials. We can speak out against injustice. That’s what Kaepernick was doing.

Instead of spending all of our time fixated on the fact that Kaepernick had a seat on a bench, we should ask ourselves why he did it. He was making a statement about inequality in this country. He was exercising his right, as an American, to bring our attention to an issue facing this country. He knew that he would receive kickback for it. He knew that he would be attacked, and hated, and berated for it. He decided that everything he would get in response to his actions would be worth it, to bring attention to an issue. The least we can do is at least look into what he was saying and try to understand why he was willing to do this instead of spending all of our time trying to crucifying for exercising his right as an America citizen.

So you can be as angry as you wish about Kaepernick sitting for the National Anthem. But in my opinion, I think he did exactly what a good American should do - use the voice afforded to us by our government to speak out against injustice so we can make our country the best that it can be.