My summary of this article is Colin Kaepernick didn’t stand when, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” was played. When he did this it started a national debate. People all over the world are debating if you should have to stand during,” The Star-Spangled Banner.” Kaepernick also believes that police are unfair to Black Americans. So it is still a debate if you should stand during,” The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Kaepernick is protesting because he feels like the American flag does not represent what it is supposed to represent. One way he is protesting is he wears socks that say police are pigs. He wears them because he says there are rouge cops that do not treat black people the same way they treat white people and they are also putting the community
in danger. Another way he is protesting is he doesn’t stand during,” The Star-Spangled Banner.” He does this because he believes the flag represents what it should. So that is why Kaepernick is protesting.
The issue of being unpatriotic during the National Anthem was raised by people when NFL quarterback, Colin Kaepernick decided to kneel during the national anthem before a preseason game. Later, Kaepernick addressed the media by saying this act was a stance against “police brutality on people of color”. By raising the
Our National Anthem Many Americans are familiar with the first verse of the poem The Defense of Fort McHenry but not by that name. Over the years since it was written, The Defense of Fort McHenry has become a part of American culture.
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.
Anthem is a story of man’s struggle to be free and to fight the masses of conformity. It tells of human nature and the want to gain all the knowledge that one could possibly attain. Man loses his safe haven and his security when he lets this lust for knowledge overpower him and lets it be seen by others. He becomes vulnerable Like Johann Faust, Prometheus sells his life for wisdom. Unlike Faust, however, Prometheus is expelled from his society but gains his freedom of individuality and his freedom of knowledge and the ability to understand. In Anthem, Prometheus and Gaea sin against society to become singular and understanding much like Adam and Eve’s sin against God when they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge to gain wisdom; as a result, they can be compared to each other by there desire for learning and by their damnation.
I went to the Apopka High School fall band concert on Thursday, November 19th, 2015 for my cultural event. Different artists featured throughout this concert include Francis Scott Key with the Star Spangled Banner, Peter Blair with the Woodchopper’s Ball, and Carmen Dragon with America the Beautiful. This concert was centered on giving thanks to the veterans that serve or have served our country, and I thought it would be a unique experience to attend. I was moved by all the veterans that stood up in the audience to be recognized. One of the artists I would like to take a closer look at is Francis Scott Key with the Star Spangled Banner. I believe that this song can be related back to western civilization through the Classic era with the Roman
In an attempt to persuade the audience to sympathize with Kaepernick or his chosen protest, the author provides information on Kaepernick’s injuries and personal struggles. Wyche explains that Kaepernick is true to his conviction by Kaepernick having taken the time to understand the situation before he acted. In an interview after one of Kaepernick’s games, Kaepernick explains that the reason he chose to sit down during the national anthem was bigger than football itself and that it would be selfish if he did not pay any attention to what is going on outside of professional football. “I have to stand up for people that are oppressed… If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right,” (Wyche 7) Kaepernick, in defense, told reporters in an interview. Wyche included this interview in his article to help persuade the audience on whether or not Kaepernick was doing this for publicity or out of true conviction for the cause. “…Using their platform and status to raise awareness to issues affecting minorities in the U.S,” (Wyche 4) Wyche explains in his article, stating that Kaepernick’s movement is truly to raise awareness. Wyche also attempts to persuade the audience by explaining that Kaepernick is biracial and could, therefor, understand both sides if the issue of
In 1984, there was a protest in the streets of Dallas; Gregory Lee Johnson was one of the many protesters there. During the protest Johnson set an American Flag on fire. There were some who agreed with what Johnson had done, but there were several others who felt extremely offended. This caused Johnson to go to court When Johnson went to court he was found guilty and was charged with "the desecration of a venerated object.”, and was sentence to a $2,000 fine, and one year in prison. Jonson should have not gone to court in the first place because what he had done was protected under the first amendment, the freedom of speech and the freedom of assembly.
It’s not only fans who find this protest wrong, but even some players do, including Drew Brees. Brees says he agrees with the context of the protest, but not the actions of it, stating, "[I]t's an oxymoron that you're sitting down, disrespecting that flag that has given you the freedom to speak out."
Henry Gass states, “The prospect of athletes speaking up has always been fraught” (2). Carl Stoffers states, “Many accused [Kaepernick] of thumbing his nose at America by not joining in a patriotic ritual that’s long been a fixture at sporting events” (8). Include the fact that the NFL which Kaepernick plays “[is] a league that promotes itself as a war game and brands itself with the flag” (Jenkins). Doubters are quick to label him unpatriotic because the place and time he protested might be wrong. The NFL show respect to military officials, Roger Goodell says, “The NFL believes very strongly in patriotism” (Jenkins). The military and American football has the same symbolic values. Carl Stoffers writes Starn says “[American is] the most sports-obsessed society in the history of the world, and we’re also a nation that’s obsessed with patriotism and pride in identity” (9). The national Anthem and the flag are symbols that American people believe make someone patriotic. Professor Blackistone writes, “[Kaepernick] dare to protest in the athletic arena, where [Americans] wrap sporting events in a prophylactic of patriotism used to demand political conformity and suppress discourse” (gtd. in
Over the years people have often questioned our national anthem. The real question is should the national anthem be the Star Spangled Banner, or America the Beautiful? Let’s go back and take a look at history on both songs.
In this chapter Zinn discusses about the Emancipation Proclamation and also how it was so hard for the slaves to be free. He explains that before the Civil war there were multiple failed attempts to abolish slavery. But after Abraham Lincoln got elected to become President he created the document Emancipation Proclamation which he ultimately abolished slavery. A lot of people were upset by this action especially the people of the south. They did not favor Lincoln because of his views and also they thought he would destroy their pleasant life, which was kind of true but not fully, “With slavery abolished by order of the government-true, a government pushed hard to do so, by blacks, free and slave, and by white abolitionists-its end could be
“Liberty has never come from the government, liberty has always come from the subjects of it. The history of liberty is a history of resistance” (Wilson). In “The Liberty Song” by John Dickinson, he talks about uniting and dividing. If people divide, hell will come and if people unite, they will live in peace with freedom and liberty. In JFK’s Inaugural Address, he talks about uniting together no matter someone’s skin color, culture, or if they are male or female. If people be liberal to each other, it allows them to work together and if all people can come and work together they can create freedom, liberty, and peace.
Throughout the years there has been many ways to reassure and keep others happy. The Mayflower Compact is one of the United States foundational documents of great historical significance, it contains literary elements with other important U.S. foundational documents in later centuries. The Preamble to the Constitution is one of the country’s foundational documents, igniting a signal of freedom both to the nation and the world. Last, The Star Spangled Banner is a historical poem that is used for the United States. The themes that the Preamble to the Constitution has in common with the Mayflower Compact and The Star Spangled Banner is unity, freedom, and peace.
George Armistead was a major in the U.S. army during the War of 1812. On June 13, 1813 Major Armistead arrived in Baltimore to take command of Fort McHenry (Parrish). Armistead contacted Mary Pickersgill, a Baltimore flag maker, to sew two American flags (“History of the American National Anthem”). The larger flag became known as “The Star-Spangled Banner.” A gifted poet by the name of Francis Scott Key spectated the battle from the top of a hill (“History of the American National Anthem”). As he was watching the battle, he began to get an idea. He wrote the first verse of a song on the back of a letter. Back in Baltimore, he completed the four verses and copied them onto a sheet of paper (“History of the American National Anthem”). Key went to a local printer to issue the new song. Historians estimated it to be printed in Baltimore around September of 1814 (“History of the American National Anthem”). From there, “The Star-Spangled Banner” became one of the nation’s most-loved patriotic songs and shows a significant symbol for the United States.
National anthem is one of the important aspect in a sovereign state beside territory and flag. It is not just a song about the country, but within the compostion itself, there are stories and facts that is also as important as the state’s history. Rabaseda (2012) define national anthem as a musical composition, patriotic in general, that evokes and tells the history and the struggle of the people in a particular state. It is mostly used during a national important day and military honours. National anthem also serve as an important identity and unifying factor as a country. One of the well-known national anthem is “The Star - Spangled Banner”, which is the national anthem of United States of America (USA).