by Andrew Wyshner ’18, Commentary Editor

For years, little drama surrounded this simple sentence: “Ladies and gentlemen, at this time we ask that you all please rise for the playing of our national anthem.” Americans then stood for the anthem, eagerly awaiting what was to come after. However, now people kneel down for it. In what many perceive as an act of disrespect and selfishness, people defiantly take a stand by taking a knee. No one disputes the legal right to perform this act, but some do argue whether this is a just protest, the correct way to protest, and whether this act is truly “American.” 

Personally, I can tolerate the reasoning for the protest, but I cannot tolerate or accept the way that people are protesting. By protesting the national anthem, people are challenging a tradition that emerged during World War I and II in order to honor fighting Americans overseas and their sacrifices for the good of the country. Protesting injustice can be done in a much less offensive way and gain just as much recognition. By protesting the anthem, the protestor is not objecting to injustice but instead the sacrifice of American soldiers. For this reason, it upsets me and many others to see people using an event so central to our nation’s identity to push their personal agendas. The anthem should be a time of unity, but instead it has become a time of divisiveness.

Many people within the Newark Academy community also hold strong opinions regarding this issue. Mr. Bitler is of the view that“A great many Americans…believe that, despite any concerns any of us might have about the country (which is imperfect in many ways), the flag of the country, and the Star-Spangled banner should always be reverenced because they represent…freedoms preserved by the Constitution and honor the millions who have died defending it, the flag and our liberty.” Personally, I do not stand for the anthem solely because I love America, but to honor all those who sacrificed to create and maintain this nation.

Danny Lifson ’18 took a different stance, saying “the intense backlash against people who choose to kneel during the anthem is one of the most un-American things I have witnessed in my life. […] The people that are kneeling are peacefully drawing attention to a problem that is plaguing our country. If making an attempt to better the country for everyone is un-American, then I would not consider myself to be an American.” This viewpoint is likely the majority within the Newark Academy community, but, in my opinion, and the opinions of many, the issue is not that they are protesting but instead the methodology. Everyone supports peaceful protest as a way of displaying beliefs, but, as shown by the Women’s March, it is possible to protest without disrespecting the American flag and national anthem. Ben Leit ’18 took a more moderate perspective on the issue, saying “I support kneeling during the anthem—protest is patriotic. […] And, although I disagree with it, the backlash against that practice is equally American and equally patriotic.” Many, including me, agree with that statement with the exception of “during the anthem”; anywhere else, take a knee, but to kneel for publicity and defiantly disrespect our nation under the guise of protest is intolerable.

I will never tell someone that they cannot protest and they cannot have their viewpoints be heard. However, I am not going to stand idly while people who are considered pioneers, leaders, and role models disrespect America and all the sacrifices people have made to make America great. So, I ask kindly, do not protest during the Star-Spangled Banner. Your viewpoints are welcome and appreciated, but do not make the national anthem your forum for protest; kneel somewhere else.