Baseball may be the American pastime, but it is no secret our football players are the ones who are treated like the real heroes. Seriously, more than 30 million viewers tune in every week to worship by screen and watch their favorite teams play on Sundays.
This year, football is not the only thing fans are watching. Now, to protest against racism and discrimination, athletes are kneeling during the national anthem to make a point.
However, freedom has nothing to do with making a statement. I’m looking at you, NFL kneelers.
If you really want to make headlines, turn the halftime show into an equality speech seminar or sit literally at any other time. If you choose wisely, you will get noticed, and no one will even debate whether your cause is just. Instead, you’ll simply be right because there will be no room to misinterpret your message, as you would still be standing during the national anthem.
Even though you may disagree with U.S. policies or hate the president, or even hate all of the American population, you cannot disrespect America. After all, we are one nation, no matter how divided things may seem.
If we cannot agree on honoring our soldiers on the very soil we stand, then we will never be able to agree on anything at all, and all you protesters might as well just quit while you are ahead. While whether you like the country we live in now is up for debate, it is not optional to ignore the soldiers who died for it.
Sisters, fathers, aunts, brothers, cousins and friends have died for you to have the right to stand up for what you believe in. I’m not staying you shouldn’t protest, but you should consider where and when you decide to make a statement. Those soldiers were not just making a statement when they signed their contracts and left their homes — they were making a commitment. Their commitment is one to honor the country, to fight for their country and to serve the millions of people in it. They did not get the option to sit this one out, and neither should you, regardless of your justification. The bottom line is, no matter how right you think you are when you’re disrespecting the flag, you’re wrong, and that’s that.
If you actually want to make this country a better place, it starts with you.
If you want people to be better, you should be a better American. You should stand for the national anthem. You should put your hand over your heart, the way so many people do when their loved ones do not come home. You should embody the Pledge of Allegiance and pledge to be the best citizen this country has ever seen. Not until then will things change.
After all, haven’t you heard “be the change that you wish to see in the world?” Do you want your children sitting during the national anthem, while you remember all the things you did for America? I doubt it. So, set an example, and get on your feet.
While you harp on all the privileges you don’t get to have, do not forget you still have the biggest one — to be an American.
We are the greatest nation in the world. We are the land of the free. We are the home of the brave. Let’s remember who the real heroes are, stand for the national anthem and exercise our right to protest appropriately, without dishonoring the very country that granted us freedom in the first place.
Victoria Fortier is a UF journalism sophomore. Her column appears on Fridays.
