Patriotism In The United States
Ever since our founding fathers discovered this country, citizens have shown a great deal of respect for the men and women that have fought to preserve the independence and the freedoms that this country is built on. Throughout the history of this nation we have only seen a few instances of declined patriotism and it seems as if were are going through a downfall today. In the seventeen years that I have been a part of this nation I have experienced one of the deadliest terror attacks that the world has ever seen. The days after September 11th, 2001 were spent admiring the armed forces and first responders that risked their own lives for the nearly 3,000 people that died on that day. In the last four years it seems like our patriotism has greatly
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A few months ago NFL Quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the National Anthem before a game. This act sparked a lot of controversy due to his lack of patriotism. Kaepernick claims that he took a knee during the Anthem in order to protest against the racial oppression and police brutality that he says has been consuming our country. To me, this is an example of anti-patriotism because if the men and women that fought for this country would have decided to not fight, then Kaepernick would not even have this NFL platform or the right to voice his opinion. On the other end of the spectrum we have Ray Chavez who is the oldest-known Pearl Harbor Survivor. We recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor with a ceremony in Hawaii to remember all the fallen lives of December 7th, 1941. Leading up to this ceremony, Ray Chavez, despite being 104 years old, exercised with a personal trainer in order to be able to walk during the ceremony. He gained twenty pounds of muscles that helped him make the trip to Hawaii and walk during this recognition. He did this to show his respect to those who gave their lives for the freedom of this country. The same freedoms that give Colin Kaepernick the ability to play professional football and the freedom to kneel during the national anthem. These two men have completely opposite views of what it means to be an American. My hope is that in the next few years that my generation will not forget the sacrifices that were made to ensure our freedom and can gain the patriotism that I feel has been lost. Everyone should feel proud to be an
A few months ago NFL Quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the National Anthem before a game. This act sparked a lot of controversy due to his lack of patriotism. Kaepernick claims that he took a knee during the Anthem in order to protest against the racial oppression and police brutality that he says has been consuming our country. To me, this is an example of anti-patriotism because if the men and women that fought for this country would have decided to not fight, then Kaepernick would not even have this NFL platform or the right to voice his opinion. On the other end of the spectrum we have Ray Chavez who is the oldest-known Pearl Harbor Survivor. We recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor with a ceremony in Hawaii to remember all the fallen lives of December 7th, 1941. Leading up to this ceremony, Ray Chavez, despite being 104 years old, exercised with a personal trainer in order to be able to walk during the ceremony. He gained twenty pounds of muscles that helped him make the trip to Hawaii and walk during this recognition. He did this to show his respect to those who gave their lives for the freedom of this country. The same freedoms that give Colin Kaepernick the ability to play professional football and the freedom to kneel during the national anthem. These two men have completely opposite views of what it means to be an American. My hope is that in the next few years that my generation will not forget the sacrifices that were made to ensure our freedom and can gain the patriotism that I feel has been lost. Everyone should feel proud to be an