I recently heard that Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback for the 49ers, refused to stand for the national anthem. His own justification for not standing is, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," which I understand a little of this sentence. Not many people would want to support something if it goes against their beliefs, but the national anthem? I think that is going to far, especially when the United States has been working since The Civil War to make things better for all. There is more to his quote, which I got from an article and you can view that here.

I realized the world has been tough for all citizens and it seems to revolve around ISIS, black people shootings, and police shootings. Now, ISIS is independent from any sort of problem we can solve without causing a greater death toll. They're a whole different kind of bad and we have handled them before, in all of their forms. When it comes to oppression in the United States based on race, gender, and sexual orientation, we need to stop violence. There have been so many shootings lately and it is heart breaking to hear the stories of survivors and to watch videos from those in the moment. These situations have been retaliating after each over, so yes, I understand why Kaepernick would not want to stand for this country.

He's not seeing those who are trying to fix it, no one is seeing that. The United States has been working on becoming more modern, granted, the rich want to stay rich which makes it tougher, but the society is actually getting better. Body image is improving through models, friendships are for everyone no matter the race, people of different countries are finding their path in the United States, and when applying for college those who are discriminated get more money. These are just simple things but they are improvement, the individuals of this country are getting better and those that do not flow with society do not succeed because they are close minded. Kaepernick sits because he does not see this, he only see what the news shows and the news tends to show the bad and the successful, not very often the kind and modest. I do support his views on sitting, but he should not have sat for the national anthem.

We sing "The Star Spangled Banner" because we show respect and love for our country and the history of this country during the Revolutionary War. Everyone, no matter the age, race, gender, etc, stands and removed their hats for the national anthem. We sing for God in church to honor him and we sing the national anthem to honor those who have won it for us long ago.

I remember a discussion we had in Government last year, it was about whether everyone should say "The Pledge of Allegiance" or if it's okay to just stand for it. The class was unanimous, we should all stand, but not everyone has to say it. We pledge to our country every morning in school because it teaches us as children to know how to respect our country. That idea doesn't just stretch to the United States though, it goes for every country.

Over the summer I read the book, Where Am I Wearing by Kelsey Timmerman, it is about Kelsey who travels to all of the country where his clothes were made. This journey takes him to China, Honduras, Cambodia, and a few other places. Each place he visits, he sees how these people live and the poor states of their houses, but he respects them. When they offer him food, he eats it even though he knows they need it more. When he plays games, he learns their games and has fun because it is their tradition. My point in saying this is, that he went to multiple countries and he accepted their traditions, he respected them.

When someone from another country comes to the United States they know to respect it and the same goes for us when we visit a different country. It is respect for the countries that we see, not for our own beliefs. It is rude to not ask to take your shoes off in someone else's house and it is rude to not stand and take your hat off for "The Star Spangled Banner".

So, Kaepernick, I understand where your beliefs are coming from and I understand that the world doesn't seem all too great right now. When it comes to stand to honor a soldier, a police officer, or a fireman, you stand and honor them. When it comes to stand to honor the flag, you do so, not because you love or hate it, but because you respect the sacrifices that have been made to get the United States to be the United States.