When I listen to the National Anthem I think of our veterans.

I don’t think of the presidents and the things that our country has done, but instead I think of the people who have died to protect that anthem and that flag.

This means that seeing football players kneel during the Anthem makes it feel as though they are disrespecting these veterans and what they have done for us all.

At the same time, I understand that kneeling during the Anthem is in an effort to raise awareness to the mistreatment of black people in our country today.

I know it is also meant to show that the kneelers do not agree with where our country is at right now.

I also agree that these are two major problems our country has and they need to be broadcasted and fixed.

But, I still cannot help but feel that kneeling during an anthem is not the best way to draw attention to the situation.

When I go onto social media, most of what I see about the kneeling is negative, and not even concerning what they are trying to draw attention to.

I think that most people take kneeling during the anthem to be disrespectful to our veterans, as I mentioned previously.

Even though I don’t like the feeling it gives me when I see people kneel, I can still respect the fact that these kneelers are peacefully protesting what they believe in.

Although, I don’t think I can say that the majority of our country respects it the same way I do.

For example, there is a new law that is trying to be passed that may force these athletes to stand during the Anthem. I think that this certainly proves my point.

On the matter of that new law, I think if someone is peacefully protesting their beliefs, we ethically should not try to force them to do what we believe is right.

In a way, then we are not peacefully protesting for our own beliefs.

I hope that the people who do not see this topic the same way I do will at least learn to see the reasons behind these kneelings, respect it, and try to fix the issues so the football players would not feel the need to kneel.

Until that happens, if it happens, I wish there was a different way to bring attention to the two big issues in our country that would still raise just as much attention, but would do so in a better light.