First Amendment Rights Analysis

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We were granted our first amendment right for a reason. We should be able to use that right, and all rights, no matter where we are or what we are doing. If we feel as though we have been wronged and we want to make a public point of that, we have the right to do so. If a performer wants to use their platform for political issues, more power to them. In all reality, there shouldn’t be much of a discussion regarding this topic.
Colin Kaepernick was the first NFL player to use his platform to protest the national anthem. In the pre-season of 2016, Kaepernick both sat and kneeled during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality. By the 2017 season, several NFL players have joined in on silent protest during the national
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With this logic, of saving political stances for a better time. The question asks itself, is that fair to those people? Those who experience injustices due to something prevalent about themselves, such as race or gender can not choose when or when not to have to deal with it, because it’s always there. A performer or player who has been wronged, does not suddenly gain justice from walking onto a field or stage, they carry it with them wherever they are. Why would we put a limitation on their right to speak of their circumstance? Other arguments for adding on limitations to the first amendment include, for instance, kneeling during the national anthem is disrespectful to those who serve our country. In the majority of cases, those who kneel during the national anthem do it to make a scene and bring attention to important issues, not to disrespect soldiers or police officers. Racial inequality has been a defining characteristic of the history of the United States in many ways. Police brutality coincides with racial inequality, however this issue was not brought to the light until the media introduced some more recent …show more content…
We’ve seen successful silent protests for racial inequality before. For example, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama when Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. Parks influenced lawmakers to desegregate public transportation and is now regarded as a hero for doing so. During that time, Rosa Parks received plenty of negative reactions for her protest, similar to these NFL players. Imagine if these football player’s protest could influence the system as much as Rosa Parks's protest did. If they actually could make even the slightest change and improve equality between races and reduce police brutality, they too could be regarded as heroes and have made a significant difference that will go down in our nation’s history. Silent protest is protected under the first amendment no matter what the issue is. If there were restrictions on the first amendment or silent protesting, it would only increase the likelihood of violent protests and non peaceful protests to take place, which are not protected under the first amendment. This is a step back for our country. In no circumstance should we put any type of restrictions on God given, natural rights of any person. By doing so, it would only increase the violence and chaos that is being protested in the first