Star Spangled Banner Summary

On September 21st, Christine Brennan reported Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand while the national anthem was being played in National Public Radio’s (NPR) online portal (www.npr.org). All through the National Football League 's preseason matches, Colin Kaepernick, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, refused to stand for the national anthem. He clarified that he took this stance to point out what he sees as wrongdoings against African-Americans and different minorities, especially with regards to certain atrocities in police activities. Kaepernick has stated he is showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, which was sparked by a number of police killing innocent black people. When addressed by journalists after the first occasion when he did not stand for the national anthem, Kaepernick stated that, “he would not show respect or pride in a flag for a country that continues to oppress African Americans and people of color.” He added that this was much bigger than any game and that it would be selfish on his part to look away. He also claims that there were bodies lying on the streets and people were getting away with murder. I don’t think Brennan understands why he chose not to stand fully. I think this also could have led to more attacks from other writers and reporters that have been inform of his true reasoning. I do not think he was disrespecting the flag or people that fight for it, but just making a stance to get

Colin Kaepernick, a San Francisco 49er quarterback but also a daring black man that has decided to speak for the voices that can’t, has made his voice heard by kneeling during America’s beloved ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’. Jaweed Kaleem writes in the article “In the ‘land of the free,’ are you free to sit out the national anthem?” about the controversial topic in which he showcases the two sides of how it deems to be disrespectful to sit out the national anthem vs how Kaepernick has the freedom of expression to sit out what he believes does not benefit him.

A big problem protesters like Colin Kaepernick and others are facing is that since they don’t participate in the National Anthem people think that they don’t like our country and are unpatriotic. For example Donald Trump and his aides took the situation into their own hands when calling out the protesters by saying, “protests are unpatriotic and disrespectful to the flag and those who have fought to protect the United States”(Tatum). After these comments players fire back by saying they’re exercising free speech by not participating in the National Anthem while standing with their hands over their hearts. Protesting is a

The San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback, Colin Kaepernick has been at the center of attention for quite a while now. He is now known for his infamous kneeling or sitting during the National Anthem. He has received both positive and negative feedback regarding his actions. Some may view his actions as right and justifiable, but his actions show nothing but disrespect and a lack of patriotism.

“For the land of the free, and the home of the brave” the remarkable final words of our nation’s anthem. There has been recent controversy about football players, and many other athletes kneeling during the “Star Spangled Banner” to protest against the tragedies happening in America day after day. The First Amendment gives these athletes the privilege to express those rights by kneeling. People should stand for the national anthem because it is a sign of respect and appreciation for our country. On August 14th, San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick made the choice to kneel during the national anthem. His decision to kneel was because he could not stand in front of a flag that oppresses black people in its nation. Kaepernick’s kneel turned into a nationwide protest for people of color being mistreated in the United States. Did Kaepernick know what the flag actually represented before he took his costly action?

Innocent black people are getting killed and no one is doing anything. But when an athlete doesn't stand up for "The Star-Spangled Banner" they start to get mad and start do something about it. There's a war between people and police men where they are killing innocent black people and not going to jail for the crimes they did. Why can't we have peace at all? That means there are innocent black people who are unarmed and they are getting killed. But they won't let the victim's family get their justice that they need. Not standing up for the "The Star-Spangled Banner" is rude but then again there's some reasons behind it.

Kaepernick received a lot of heat for kneeling during the national anthem. Many felt he was disrespecting the military and its flag. Others felt he was a bench player trying to be in the spotlight. Kaepernick stated the first day he protest that he “great respect for the men and women that have fought for this country”.(Branch) What many people who are against Kaepernick protest is that the military is only a portion of what our flag represents. Our flag represents freedom for all but African Americans are still being affected by

A famous sports figure in history once said, “I cannot stand and sing the anthem. I cannot salute the flag. I know that I am a black man in a white world” (McKirdy). At first glance, this quote seems to be something that would have been said by the San Francisco 49ers Quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, in light of his recent protests, as well as other sports players who decided to follow suit, to the playing of the national anthem before football games. However, this is not the case. The above quote was written in the 1972 autobiography, I Never Had it Made, written by legendary African American Major League Baseball player, Jackie Robinson (McKirdy). Colin Kaepernick obviously felt the same as Jackie Robinson did when he sat on the bench rather than standing during a rendition of the national anthem before a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on August 26. During an interview with the media following the game, Kaepernick explained why he refused to stand for the anthem, “‘I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder’” (Wyche). Kaepernick explains that he refused to stand for the national anthem because of the treatment of minorities in recent events in the US (Wyche). This is his main reason for the protests,

When Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the “Star Spangled Banner” a mass dispute over race, patriotism and football broke out across the United States. Many people who were opposed to Kaepernick's protest believed he was disrespecting our military by not standing with his hand over his

People who support refusing to stand for the national anthem argue is an appropriate and effective method of peaceful protest. People who disagree argue that Kaepernick not standing for the national anthem shows disrespect for the country and those who proudly supportting it. So many people think that this kind of protest should be banned. However, I think he refused to stand for the national anthem is accepted.

Many believe that when Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers quarterback , refused to stand with his hand over his heart, he abused his duty for his country. In “ O’er the ramparts we watched as athletes were kneeling”, Merrill Matthews, a resident scholar with the Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas, says he at some point this is going to get out of hand and will not be able to be stopped or fixed. “ If athletes can kneel during the national anthem, can they turn their back? Can they stand on the U.S. flag or even burn it?” ( Matthews 3). In other words, this needs to be stopped before things get out of hand. It is understandable why the opposition argues that Kaepernick was wrong for his doings. However, Colin Kaepernick is a U.S. citizen

When “The Star-Spangled Banner” started playing during his competition, Sam Kendricks, U.S. pole vaulter and second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve, abruptly stopped, dropped his pole, and stood at attention when he heard the anthem playing. Kendricks comes from a military family. His father, Scott served 10 years in the U.S. Marines and is now his son’s coach. Kendricks finished with a bronze medal with a vault of 19 feet 2½ inches.

As Colin Kaepernick's refusal to stand for the singing of the national anthem continues to raise tensions both on the field and on the internet, John Legend's take is possibly the most unifying opinion out there.

Meaning in music is derived from parenthetical analysis of several technical aspects including lyrics, form, historical context, emotional content, and personal connection. A hermeneutical approach to the Star-Spangled Banner can yield only interpretational results. Therefore, we must examine the more concrete details of the work, and how the music relates to the meaning of the protests as stated by Colin Kaepernick in August of 2016.

The United States Flag is a symbol of all the soldiers that have and are currently fighting for our country. So, when Colin Kaepernick didn’t stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner”, it caused a huge uprising throughout the world. In the article “In the ‘land of the free,’ are you free to sit out the national anthem?” from the Los Angeles Times, it says that the reason Colin chose not to stand was because of the division of the country. “The country is divided between Black Lives Matter- a movement who activism over police shootings of black men Kaepernick tweets about to his 900,000 followers - and Blue Lives Matter” (Kaleem). I believe that the what people are saying about Kaepernick being disrespectful to the fighting men and our country is