Preview

National Anthem Rhetorical Analysis

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
117 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
National Anthem Rhetorical Analysis
Excellent point, Mitchell.

People who affiliate with the right-wing, all to often, conveniently neglect the First Amendment when it concerns matters regarding racial equality. The stains of the past cannot/should not be forgotten as hideous elements linger on in our current culture. I speak, of course, of the disproportionate incarceration rates of African Americans compared to whites and the proliferation of the number of instances when police officers use deadly force against minority populations. This, and this alone, was Colin Kaepernick's original message when he courageously took a knee during the National Anthem. The distortion of this fact and the deflection towards disrespecting the military and our country omits the central issue

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    It has been argued that Colin Kaepernick kneeling while the National Anthem is playing, is absolutely ridiculous, is not showing support for love of this country, and not showing support to the veterans. In “The Perilous Fight,” Jim Brown, a NFL Hall of Famer and a civil rights activist. Told Time, “I would not do anything that has to do with respecting the flag or the national anthem. I don’t think it’s appropriate.” In other words Jim Brown would challenge the normal of standing for the Anthem, no matter the severity of the situation. For this reason opponents argue that Colin Kaepernick kneeling down is not right for him to be testing the flag; but it’s not also right for the police of America to be able to go on a killing spree and have…

    • 173 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Calling for military emancipation makes it difficult to declare who actually freed the slaves before the ratification of the thirteenth amendment. The slaves who ran to Union lines were freed with the document, but they ran to the military on their own will. Lincoln did not have anything to do with their running away because it has happened for centuries. It is this fact that makes the efficiency of the Emancipation Proclamation questionable. If the document did not remove the slaves from their masters and no one enforced it, how could it be efficient? Gates, Bennett, and Lincoln made the observation that the document only freed the males that joined the union. This makes it difficult to find records of exactly how many slaves the document…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In this piece of visual rhetoric, there is a very strong message conveyed. Depicted in the medium are lips, very disturbing lips. The creator of this piece uses image to connect to the viewer visually, expressing a very serious tone. Image is a very powerful tool; it makes the author more credible and the audience more apt to agree and believe. The creator of this image intends to affect its viewers in a powerful way: through surprise and contrast, and it is well executed. The viewer of the image should look at it and ponder its meaning. No words accompany this picture, permitting the viewer to have free interpretation.…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The take a knee movement is not the first protest the National Anthem has seen, it is just the latest in a long history of “unpatriotic behavior.” Perhaps the most infamous protest was a result of the black power salute held by Tommie Smith and John Carlos in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, “they didn’t [take a knee]. Instead they raised a fist” (Brown). The Civil Rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s were a time of upheaval for various minority groups of American society, including the black rights movement. Holding a fist instead of placing a hand over the heart got the gold and bronze medals respectively strip from Smith and Carols, for calling attention to real problems that still exist in our country. These brave men “wore beads and a scarf to protest lynchings. And when the national anthem was played, they lowered their heads in defiance and raised their fists in a Black Power salute that rocked the world” (Brown). These acts of defiance have set a stage for other individuals to speak out again the injustice plaguing our society. The downplay of such circumstances is unpatriotic and inhumane, more so than refusing to stand during the National…

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Abraham Lincoln’s speech “The Gettysburg Address”, he explains why the great civil war was fought and keeps on urging the public to continue fighting. His argument developed through rhetorical devices of juxtaposition, repetition, and diction. His purpose in speaking is to encourage the American population to go on battle in order to unite the nation and keep their pride. His primary audience is the American public, especially those with the capability to fight.…

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Promoting a sense of the true American spirit is a popular tactic for many companies to sell products because of the innate and contagious pride in one’s nation. Almay created a commercial featuring Carrie Underwood that appeals to this idea in order to sell makeup. Carrie begins by describing the embodiment of beauty in America, while an impressive scene of a mountain complete with a cascading waterfall fills the background. The song “All American Girl” plays with a video of Carrie performing it passionately while wearing a patriotic shirt. This is a song she wrote herself and it describes the idyllic life of a girl growing up in America. She describes how Americans are big dreamers who are full of pride for the place they call home. The commercial…

    • 1289 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The issue of justice and equality has plagued the United States since the 17th century. Minorities in America experienced most of this plague throughout the years, and are still witnessing it currently. On September 1, 2016, Colin Kaepernick, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers took a knee during the national anthem in support for the of the "Black Lives Matter" movement. He received heavy criticism over the next two weeks for his actions, and even death threats. However, I believe that protestors all across of the United States of America should be able to have their voice heard no matter any circumstance.…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On November 19, 1863 Abraham Lincoln gave a reverent and humbling speech for the soldiers who had given their lives at the battle of Gettysburg for the reform and advancement of the country. He states that the brave men who here gave their last full measure of devotion” should be highly esteemed for the sacrifice they made. Lincoln establishes his ideas through the usage of rhetorical devices such as, an appeal to ethos, parallelism, and juxtaposition.…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of the great oral presentations this world has seen, many of them serve as an outlet for individuals to articulate their ideals and beliefs to a greater audience. The way in which great speakers such as Martin Luther King Jr and Abraham Lincoln do this is through speech elements such as rhetoric, language techniques, successful structure and also establishing a relationship with their audience. The speeches I have a Dream, and The Gettysburg Address [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMMzY1KJVeo], although performed to entirely different audiences in different contexts, share similar values and qualities.…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anthem Theme Essay

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This wonderfully crafted novel, Anthem by: Ayn Rand suggested many ideas concerning how effective and “perfect” utopian societies are. In the story our protagonist, equality, lives in a utopian society in the future however the societies technology isn’t very futuristic. All of what we have know has been stripped from the society to the point where they don’t have electricity and they use candles for light and primitive ways of farming instead of more productive ways to mass produce crops. Equality’s society is also practices extreme collectivism. The citizens were taught from a very young age that nothing good can come about unless you work together with your fellow brothers. Engraved in their palace of the world council there is a moral “we are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, one, indivisible and forever.” However, in this “we” based world, equality finds himself drifting away from his brothers and after he finds this deserted tunnel he starts escaping to it and writing his own thoughts and performing his own experiments and he comes up with a light bulb, he then shows this light to a council of scholars who basically rejected his idea and he ran away from the society to a forest where he then lives in an abandoned house with another runaway citizen liberty, and they fall in love.…

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    America needs to begin the conversation and start talking about racism, as this is something that people face everyday. Kaepernick used his largely viewed platform, and challenged all of America to look at the issue at hand. As Jones says; “The whole point of a stand is to put them on display, to ask the world to confront and examine their hypocrisies and ask why they’re on one side and not the other”. This supports the fact that Kaepernick’s protest is starting the much needed conversation. Now, after all the press coverage and media outrage regarding his protest, whenever somebody hears the national anthem, Kaepernick and race come to…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    No matter how horrible our country might be at the moment, refusing to stand up for the National Anthem shows complete disrespect and dishonor to our country. Our country has been through so much in the past to fight for what we have today, people have risked their lives for you to have an even better one and for you not even acknowledge the importance of the sacrifices they made for you and everyone else, is disgraceful. New Orleans Saints quarterback, also disagreed with the fact that it’s a disrespectful to not stand up during the National Anthem, he stated, “[I]t’s an oxymoron that you’re sitting down, disrespecting that flag that has given you the freedom to speak out.” How could you put no honor towards the flag? The flag that represents…

    • 343 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    My paper is about how many people have their own opinions about what being an American is. To complete my research I looked at various articles and videos to really see what everyone thinks. The American voice to me is that we should be able to have freedom and we should have many opportunities to do what we want. In my opinion, I believe that Barack Obama is the best representation of America because he seems like he really cares about even the future of America. Being in American to me means that we have rights to be what we want to be. No other place has what America has, and that is life, liberty and equality.In my paper I will be talking about how different people view the way America, or what is to be American to…

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lately in the United States, people get offended way too easily. Whether it has to do with genders, abortion, etc. But by reading this article, I figured out that patriotism is something people care about. I have to say that Colin Kaepernick’s actions are justifiable, and he is entitled to say what he thinks. After all, freedom of speech is one of our main rights, and criticizing others idea, just degrades the whole purpose of freedom of speech. I completely agree with Scalleta, and Kaepernick as well.…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abraham Lincoln uses anaphora, antithesis, and allusion in his speech, "The Gettysburg Address", to motivate and inspire fellow Americans to finish the almost-completed task that the soldiers fought for , equality.…

    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays