When the Star Spangled Banner was written, there was neither “liberty and justice for All” nor was there the “land of the free” for blacks. Those words only applied to the white population of America. Just as black people were oppressed then, the inequality and oppression (to a degree) of blacks still exists to this day. Too many white people fail to realize, or don’t care, that they are (and always were) born free. The center of turmoil today is not a matter of disrespecting the flag. It is true, the flag is a symbol of American freedom – but it is white American freedom.

People who believe that kneeling during the National Anthem is disrespectful might do well to educate themselves about the true meaning of the First Amendment of the Constitution. There is no disrespect by expecting the constitutional right given every American to speak and express himself on or off the field. The irony of it all lies in the fact that if there is any disrespect to be seen, it is in those who choose to worship a symbol of “privileged” freedom and stomp on the Constitution.

Keith Underwood

Urbana