The national anthem is a special moment that takes place before a sporting event. It’s a time when no matter what race, religious views or political beliefs one has, all people can stand together and acknowledge the people who serve our country and what a blessing it is to live in the United States.

Recently, there has been a silent protest among NFL players of sitting during the national anthem. While it is a right of the players to decide whether to sit or stand during the national anthem, there has been an uproar amongst people who oppose their decision, saying that they are disrespecting the country and the people that serve it.

All this began a few weeks ago when quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kaepernick, decided to sit during the anthem. His reasoning for sitting was he would not stand for a country who oppresses black people and people of color.

Now there is nothing wrong with expressing your opinion and what you believe in. This principle of freedom of speech makes America such a great country. As with anything in life, there is a time and place to demonstrate or express your opinion. The national anthem is not that time.

The national anthem is not what oppresses people or treats people of color differently. The anthem is a time to be grateful for what the country does provide you. It’s a time to remember that you live in a place where you do have freedom to be who you want to be and to remember those who serve the country and have died protecting the United States. If you have an issue with the mistreatment of certain groups of people in the United States, which is a legitimate problem in communities around the nation, there are other ways to express your concern and actively work to create a change.

But there is no reason to taint the anthem by choosing to correlate it with the oppression of people. Kaepernick isn’t at fault for fighting for what he believes in, it’s his prerogative to choose to stand up – or in this case, kneel – for what he cares about. If anything, it is admirable that he fights for a cause that he is passionate about.

The issue comes with when he is choosing to protest. There are countless other ways he could protest and get his view across effectively, but the national anthem should not be used as a stage to do that.