Toni Smith Justified Actions Analysis

It was upon these concepts of liberty, justice for all, and equality that became the foundation of America and its government. Many citizens claim that these ideals are still believed in and upheld today, yet the black NFL football players who kneeled during the national anthem at a game believe otherwise. According to Bretherton, the black players such as Kaepernick and Reid kneeled to “raise the question of why citizens of color, despite the promise of equality, still live (and die) as lesser Americans” (Bretheron 2). The players took a knee in order to raise awareness and bring attention to the discrimination colored citizens of America are facing today, such as police brutality. Although the players kneeled to invite the people of America to enter with them in a new, deeper kind of a relationship, where all are given mutual respect, the public misunderstood this act of courage as an act of disrespect and incivility towards America. These people, including President Trump, claim that the players are “disrespecting ‘our country, our flag [and] our national anthem” (Bretherton 1). The dilemma, thus, is that our

She also appeals to ethos by establishing her credibility. However, the author’s

This protest by the two athletes has been interpreted as an “act of disloyalty.” Smith describes this act, not out of disloyalty but as a “need to bring attention to the inequality in our country.  I don’t like the idea of people looking at it as negative.  There was nothing but a raised fist in the air and a bowed head, acknowledging the American flag – not symbolizing a hatred for it."

Many people hail “The Star Spangled Banner” as the greatest piece of American music. The audiences of America’s national anthem seem, instinctively, eager to express their respect by embracing the notion to remove their hats and stand up. However, not many people ponder over the question of what “The Star Spangled Banner” truly means. What does it mean? Why does it deserve so much reverence and honor? What exceptional difference allows it to prevail over the masterpieces of prominent composers like Mozart and Beethoven? The answer is fairly simple. “The Star Spangled Banner” symbolizes America’s perseverance, its set of moral laws and ethics, and its history that constitutes what America truly means.

Kneeling during the national anthem is not just wrong it is also disrespectful to the multitudes in our country who have served or or presently serving this great nation-- the United States of America. The national anthem represents many things. One of them is the fortitude of our country’s flag. In the anthem it declares that the United States of America is “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” The flag represents the very core and essence of our nation as the only land on the continent that offers its citizens the freedoms it has at the price paid for ultimately by the brave. It is in no way oppressive nor racist. It is the theme song for every American. The intended audience of this paper is an appeal to all Americans. The quarterback of the 49ers football team, Colin Kaepernick, first began a protest to draw attention to a series of incidents against African Americans by remaining seated during the national anthem, “the Star Spangled Banner.” After the great stir Kaepernick caused in the media during September 2016, Kaepernick switched up his protest by taking a knee as a nod or gesture of showing more respect to current and former military after receiving an in-depth letter from Nate Boyer a former NFL player and US military veteran. Boyer served our country as a Green Beret. Over a decade ago, Boyer witnessed genocide while working in Sudan. He met numerous African men who were smitten with America and longed to have the

Ever since September of last year, the NFL National Anthem Protest has been one of the most controversial topics across social-media, alongside with other protests against police brutality. Many have criticized for such an action for being disrespectful to the National Anthem and Flag. Those, who have supported it, claim to protest against the nationwide police brutalities against the Black people. Looking back to the history of the United States, such sports protests are not a unique incident. During 1968 Olympic game, which are hold in Mexico City, African American Athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved fists to speak for black civil rights. Yet, back then both the U.S. government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not show support for such an action, though today the IOC claimed that the black American athletes has made names for themselves for doing such protests.

According to How Writing Works the definition of the term “ethos” is, “the credibility of the writer.” Ethos can work in two ways, you can possess it, or you can earn it. Nansook Park earned her PhD in psychology and is a psychology professor at the University of Michigan, so her work it’s a given that she has experience in the field. From reading the whole excerpt it seems as though the target audience is the everyday American citizen. Park’s tone is more relaxed and sympathetic, which makes her and her arguments more relatable.

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 present day crucible in today’s world that has been occurring more and more is kneeling to the national anthem and how people that kneel don’t like our country, are only focused on helping one group/race of people, and people are being kicked off teams because of them making protests.The Anthem protests started last year in August when Colin Kaepernick sat on the bench at an NFL game during the National Anthem. After the game reporters asked him why he sat and he said, “I am not going to stand up and show pride in a flag for a country that opposes black people and people of color” (Wyche ). Since this first incident it’s spread across all of the NFL, high school sports, NHL, women's professional soccer, and even in the MLB. This protest has even been caught in the eyes of the president and there is no sign of this protest slowing down.

The massive protest throughout the NFL is against the violence and injustice toward African-Americans in the United States. As a team the Seattle Seahawks stated that they, “‘Will not stand for the injustice that has plagued people of color in this country’” (May 1). The Star Spangled Banner is an important song for Americans because it shows the unity within the country; in fact, it is supposed to bring all citizens together no matter their differences. Standing for the Anthem shows respect for all the men and women in our military who have fought for the freedom and rights of American citizens. Nick Stefanovic is a Marine Corps veteran, and was deployed to Afghanistan twice. He is one of the military personnel who think Americans should be standing for the

Athletes have been protesting in ways which are frowned upon by the government. Athletes should use their fame to promote a political agenda because everybody has an opinion.In the article, “The athlete as agent of change,” by Lonnie Bunch and David Skorton, athletes use their fame to promote a political agenda. In this article, Bunch and Skorton list the ways that athletes silently protest in sports. Ways that listed include athletes turning their back on the flag, kneeling during the national anthem, and refusing to salute the flag. These actions show that the athlete may be opposing America and by doing this, their opinion is shown. Athletes’ opinions are very powerful because athletes are often mentors or inspirations to their fans which

Professional athletes making political statements and sharing thoughts on their viewed social issues has been around since games were first being broadcasted and gave these athletes a stage to make a stand. Along with those actions entered debate for sports fans who are stuck between whether athletes should or should not share their views on things “bigger than sports”.This has been missing from professional sports in recent decades but is now slowly once again becoming relevant. The presidency of Donald Trump along with Colin Kaepernick’s taking a knee to protest the national anthem are the two main reasons for the

In addition, athletes in the past have been a positive role model for athletes and young people, today. Just like President Barack Obama recently said about Tommie Smith and John Carlos holding black fists up during the award ceremony, “What Tommie Smith and John Carlos did may have been controversial at the time, but it created opportunity for future generations.” This means that the athletes, in the past, that spoke out against their disbeliefs, set an example for present athletes, and how to get their point across, but at the same time being a role model for young people. Furthermore, since athletes are already on a bigger stage, when they speak out, they are allowing us, as a nation, to see our flaws, so we can unite together and change it. When Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem, it was part of the Black Lives Matter movement, and it helped our nation come together to find a solution. By doing this, our

The author, Sean Gregory, in “The Perilous Fight,” talks about the political issue that has been going on for the past year, the issue started when a professional football player from the San Francisco 49ers team, also known as  Colin Kaepernick, kneeled down when the National anthem for the United States of America was played at the beginning of a game. Kaepernick’s justification for this, was that this was his way of protesting unfair treatment of individuals because of racial characteristics. Since racism, discrimination, and gender inequalities have been going on for centuries, I agree on the matter of sports players being able to  kneel down when the anthem, “Star spangled Banner,” is being played because these people are trying to stand up for what they believe is right, and they should be allowed to protest because it is serving as a peaceful way to protest for people who are being unjustly treated. Racism and discrimination often leads to these individuals who are suffering to be judged, killed, and many other harsh things that should not be taking place in the “land of the free.” We as Americans are given so many great things, and people think about the United States they usually think of  freedom, pursuit of happiness, and the rights of being a U.S. citizen, but how can we exercise those given rights properly, when t the government does not let us by putting limitations and restrictions on how we use our rights?  When it's

First, I would like to start by talking about Zadie Smith’s use of ethos in her essay “Generation Why.” The first example is in the first paragraph. Smith starts off by establishing credibility right away and presenting herself as trustworthy. She states, "'I was there' at Facebook's inception, and remember Facemash and the fuss it caused." This statement made Smith's readers trust her because she was