Today in America, if you are a minority, you can be arrested, attacked or even killed for looking suspicious or making someone feel uncomfortable by your presence. So with all this going on, why should I, as a young black male, stand for a flag and show pride in a country that seems to be taking a huge step back in the eradication of racism? Would I be labeled as un-American for not standing during the National Anthem, or would I be a “true” American for exercising my first Amendment right? People need to understand that taking a knee doesn’t mean that someone is trying to insult our veterans and soldiers currently serving, it means that we are trying to show everyone that we will not stand for the injustice against us.

How many more black lives have to be lost? How many times must an immigrant be told to go back to their country? And how many times does a Muslim have to be labeled as a terrorist before the citizens of America start to realize their “great” country isn’t so great? The whole point of taking a knee during the national anthem is to have a voice without saying a word at all. It is to show America that we have a long way to go before we can even consider to call ourselves a “perfect” country. But still, so many people, including the President, are getting upset that people are protesting the wrongdoings of this country. I feel as though as a President, Donald Trump should understand why people are refusing to stand for the flag instead of attacking them on Twitter, saying things such as, "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now--he's fired!" Instead of understanding the perspectives of those who are kneeling, he’d much rather call them names and demand that they lose their job for standing up or kneeling in this case, for what they believe in. Or how about the crowds booing at the players taking a knee? It’s very hypocritical that they chastise players for silently protesting by taking a knee and “disrespecting the flag and active servicemen/women” but instead of them “showing pride in their country” by respecting the anthem, they’d much rather boo and scream at the players. This just shows how far away from perfect America really is.

I don’t think myself or others believe that kneeling during the National Anthem will stop or prevent everything that is going on in America. However, I do think kneeling makes more people aware of the ongoing race related issues in this country. If we want to make America great, we must come together and make an attempt to change everything that is wrong with us.