RESPECT GIVEN IS RESPECT GAINED
Disrespect for America is much deeper than one football player refusing
to stand for the National Anthem. It has shocked the world to see the
disrespect given to a respectable family-of-color when President Obama was
elected to occupy the White House.
Americans have shown the world just how deep the roots of hatred are
embedded within American society.
Colin Kaepernick may be forced to stand for the National Anthem, but he
cannot be forced to respect a society that has, for over two hundred years,
disrespected people of color. Force is a method used by dictators around the
world as a tool to secure power. Respect
is not gained by force and the use of force will do nothing to solve the
problem of the racial divide that is within American society.
If Americans want respect, Americans must give respect. Throughout the
history of the United States African Americans have faced unspeakable forms of
discrimination. Americans have yet to accept the fact that forcing humans into
slavery created long-term problems that are far from being solved. People of color are still being mistreated by
law enforcement officials who carelessly use deadly force as a method to attain
social order. And today American prisons are filled with working-class
individuals who are victims of an unjust judicial system.
Every day the world sees an America that is moving away from the land of
the free and the home of the brave. To even consider the idea that in the land
of the free an individual can be forced to conform to a public formality of
respect is to show just how close America has moved in the direction of a
dictatorship. The fact is: most great Americans were nonconformists. Nonconformity produces the actions that later
turn into the characteristics of greatness.
From the beginning of American history an attempt has been made to force
gays to conform to the heterosexual lifestyle. There are hundreds of examples
of LGBT citizens being bullied by members of a so-called straight society in
which little or no punishment was given to the abusers. LGBT individuals continue to be victimized by
name calling, denied job promotions, refused housing, and locked out of
religious organizations. Gay and lesbian citizens have endured verbal and
physical abuse, nevertheless the gay lifestyle has flourished from the closet
to the public square. Presently, the talents of the gay communities have been
recognized around the world.
Instead of a public uproar over the act of standing to show respect, the
real concern should be the evidence of disrespect for African and Latin
Americans, LGBT citizens, and other minorities living in the United
States. In America there are enough
examples of disrespect to go around. The capitalistic economic system has
become known as the system of disrespect. There is disrespect for the American
workers by employers refusing to pay a living wage. There is disrespect for the veterans of war
who are denied adequate health benefits. There is disrespect for the honest
taxpayer in the series of the tax loopholes given to the rich. There is
disrespect shown to women who do not receive equal pay for equal work.
Therefore, many rich Americans should not stand for the National Anthem, but
should be down on their knees begging forgiveness for the harm they have caused
other humans.
No comments:
Post a Comment