Dear Mr. or Madam President:

The National Anthem is supposed to be an uplifting song that stands for America. There is a protest going on right now that is involving mostly athletes on a national stage. When the national anthem is being played some of the athletes are taking a knee during it. It all started on a professional sports team and now it's coming into college and high school athletics. Many people, like myself, are getting angry at these protestors for doing this on a national stage. We are getting mad because they are disrespecting our military members and what they have done for our country. The people who are getting mad need to ask themselves, why are the protestors doing this?

Many people die everyday fighting for us to be able to live free, and sing the national anthem. This is why it bothers me when people disrespect the National Anthem, and disrespect the men and women fighting for our country. The NFL has also respected these military active members and veterans by full saluting during games. This matters to me because I have family in armed forces that fight for our country. My grandfather fought in World War II, and my cousin is now serving in the Air Force. Many protestors are not protesting because of the men and women fighting, though. They are fighting for what their ancestors had to go through and what they claim they are still going through today. Some of the people against the anthem are also protesting the "Black Lives Matter" fight, and not supporting the country after this belief. The people believe that the writer, Francis Scott Key, was a former slave owner. Many people are unhappy about the protest. On Bleacher Report, former NFL quarterback, Terry Bradshaw, says "Protestors are unhappy with with the rise of protest involving the United States national anthem." Bradshaw also says that NFL players are many people's role models, and are making a bad representation for younger people. He also believes that people have the right to think what they think, but doesn't think they should show actions on a national stage. The start of all of this was Collin Kaepernick kneeling by the water coolers during the national anthem. After one game of this his teammate, Eric Reed, joined him by doing this on the sideline in front of all of the media. ESPN reporters say teammates are angry with this, but can't take action because it is not against the rules or law of the United States. (ESPN Mark Sandritter) Many people that have served in the armed forces are ready to take action. One person says, " This action is just as disrespectful as burning a flag. People who are doing this action should be punished for doing this to our country." (CNN Azadeh Ansari) There are more than just professional athletes that are doing this also. One case is a high school band in South Carolina, where the whole band is sitting and refusing to play the national anthem before the football game. The principal of the school has said he will take action on these members. Another example is at a high school near my home town, and their football players are taking a knee during the anthem. A group of players have been kneeling during the anthem, and it's raising tempers at the high school. In my opinion, I would think that the team chemistry would not be good during all of this either. If one teammate is not liking the other teammate for his beliefs they might not play well together. Football is a team sport. Nothing has been said about the actions, but according to the law nothing can be said or done.

The National Anthem is the song that we sing for freedom in our country. My thought is if you don't like how the national anthem is then do the kneeling in private, and not in front of all of America. It can't be a crime because of the amendments, but it can really make people upset when they do this act on a national stage because many people have lost their lives for the anthem.