From the first day that children enter a school system, they are taught how to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and how to honor and respect their country. Good citizenship should be an integral part of our lives so that we can live harmoniously in our society. This is what patriotism should symbolize in our country. However, in the article "Understanding Black Patriotism", Michael Eric Dyson reminds us that sometimes people can take patriotism too far and we can become very critical of people in America. He suggests that black people have been misunderstood and misjudged throughout history. In extreme cases, black people can be perceived as being unpatriotic and disloyal to America.
Over the course of the past few weeks, multiple NFL players and teams have been kneeling, sitting, or raising their fists during “The Star Spangled Banner”. The players that have been participating in this state that it’s a movement to protest the racial injustice in America. In response to this movement, many people have stated that it is disrespectful towards the American Flag and the troops that are currently fighting and have fought in the past. Also, Donald Trump has stated that it is important for players to stand during the anthem, even going as far to say that those who do not stand should be fired. However, teams, like the Saints, have decided to kneel prior to national anthem and stand during the anthem. Or teams, like the Indianapolis Colts, have released statements claiming that when they are kneeling, they have no intention of disrespecting the military, they only want to “speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.”
Americans have been conducting peaceful demonstrations for years. These demonstrations are almost always held in protest of an important cause. Sports figures also protest for different causes they feel strongly about. However, because they are in the spotlight, sometimes these public figures are not treated equally when they try to voice their opinion about a cause. One such cause is the correct tribute to our country's song. As a result, they are often punished for openly expressing themselves. Consequently, sports figures, such as professional athletes, should not be penalized when some choose not to stand for the National Anthem.
The Star-Spangled Banner was recognized for official use by the U.S in 1889. Since then it has been something widely respected in the U.S. Recently though people have began kneeling or refusing to stand during the Star Spangled banner. Kneeling during the national anthem should not be allowed. Some athletes have done this as a form of protest in the name of the Black Lives Matter movement. But this is a form of disrespect towards this country and its armed forces. As well as an unnecessary risk, because although others claim that this is a form of peaceful protest many have gotten death threats, and that is not peaceful at all.
Individuals feel that no problems exist about racial equality or social injustices.Some argue that protesting the national anthem is like protesting the country and our veterans. Kneeling is not about disrespecting the military or the veterans. It is about trying to get the country, people in government, to open their eyes to all of the turmoil going on around the world. People are distraught, upset and sick of the violence, police brutality, social and racial injustices going on. Just as Martin L. King Jr. protested against the racial injustices years ago and non violently protested, students are finding other ways to stand up for what they believe in and what should be fair treatment for all. Protests of this one action have caused a feeling of despair and wonder for the country because it has brought us all apart and makes family and friends hate each other instead of enjoying each other. Once the racial discrimination and social injustices end in high schools and all around, our country might actually be able to become one and the protests will be able to stop. That will make everyone happy and we can continue to grow together as a community, country, and
William Jennings Bryan once said, “Never be afraid to stand with the minority when the minority is right, for the minority which is right will one day be the majority”. Standing up to the majority is vital, it gives individuals the opportunity to express their individual, unique opinions and experiences. It allows the majority to become open to diversity and the cultures that come along with it. This has been shown throughout history, Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech, is an instance of this. This speech encapsulated all that he was fighting for, for the African American minority in America and their rights. MLK standing up to the majority of white people was a significant piece of American and African American history and was
Over the past decade the term white privilege has emerged in our American history. White privilege is the concept that one particular group is benefited which is typically identified as white people. Most of the victims experiencing harsh conditions are non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances of mistreatment. A conversation took place with a few people about white privilege whose race is identified as white. An interviewer started that “the belief that being white comes with unearned advantages and everyday perks”. However, a white retiree disagreed that white privilege does not exist but shortly afterwards he stated that black privilege does. Many people were confused by his comment and asked him to further elaborate on what exactly black
The National Anthem is something many Americans hold dear to their hearts. When football players started to kneel instead of stand with the others as a protest, Americans started to become angry. Football players should stand for the national anthem for the soldiers, to help unify America, and to find another way to protest.
December the 6th, 1865 marks the end of slavery and white supremacy. A glance at the 21st century America manifests otherwise. Racism is an ongoing issue that contributes largely to class boundaries within significant aspects such as economy, education and society of the United States, making people of color inferior to white people. The key components that construct a country into greatness are economy, education and society. The inequality and injustice present in these interlinked components, bound by social class hierarchy, can lead to desisting the full potential to be a globally respectable nation.
American society has stigma, prejudice and irrational. Racial prejudices based on the spirit values of a people. A land of immigrants with many different traditions from around the world, American have also created themselves such as a melting pot culture, which is the main thing causes racist criminal in USA. Racist discrimination will occur cultural, civilized and legal differences are made to minorities, whether black, Latino, oriental or
In Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s article, “Insulting Colin Kaepernick Says More About Our Patriotism”, the author argues that Colin Kaepernick’s choice to not stand with his teammates during the US national anthem was patriotic. Abdul-Jabbar first compares Kaepernick’s choice to Army Reserve 2nd Lt. Sam Kendricks’ decision to interrupt his pole vaulting attempt at the Rio Olympics and stand at attention when the US national anthem came on. He believes that Kaepernick and Kendricks should be praised because they both behaved in a patriotic way. Abdul-Jabbar reminds us that Kaepernick’s reason for not standing during the national anthem is due to ‘things that are going on that are unjust that people aren’t being held accountable for. And that’s something
I choose The Trauma of Racism: America’s Original Sin by Kenneth T. Pons because the title caught my attention and racism is something that impacts me directly and it is all over the news. This article was great and provided alternate ways to treat racism in ways I have not thought about before. I also discovered interesting statistics and different ways at looking at racism that I was unaware of. Racism leaves the youth of color with an impact that they are unaware of at the moment and it can haunt them or provide them with anxiety, depression or stress. Overall I am excited to write an essay analyzing this
Racism is considered to be one of the most important and difficult topics to be spoken about all over the world. It has become a major problem for the nation during the years. In my essay I would like to speak about the beginning of racism, the situation nowadays, about the Civil Rights Movement and of course about a person, who had the greatest influence on the problem of racism in the history – Martin Luther King.
Inspiration and exuberance were the emotions that people felt as they listened to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s., “I Have a Dream” speech. The momentous speech was delivered on August 26th, 1968, shocking the world with its influential expression of emotion and implication of social injustice. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. proclaims courage to the civil rights activists as he speaks passionately about the need to end racism. In his words he suggests,“This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (King) . Dr. King is insisting that there should be equality between one another.
Racism is defined as the poor treatment of people based on color. For as long as humans lived, millions of people have been treated poorly because of their skin color. Racism has carried throughout the many years of American history. Since the abolishment of slavery, a huge spike of racial discrimination flourished the United States and it still does. Stereotypes, racial profiling, and discrimination are signs of racism that still are shown to many people today. Many people have tried stopping such acts with protest. Various movements have been established to achieve equal rights for everyone and stop racism. Even though the many tries, racism still strives and can still be seen today. Racism is still in America because the media’s affect,