Why America needs more people like Colin Kaepernick

FREEDOM. AMERICA. GREATEST COUNTRY EVER. WOOOOO!

Phew, now that I got that out of the way, let's get this going.

This past weekend, San Francisco 49'ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick made quite the stir in the media for choosing to sit down during the national anthem (of a preseason game, mind you).

When asked about his motives, Kap said this :

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told reporters after the game, "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

Now the mainstream media is in an absolute uproar, beating the prototypical "America is great wat r u talking about" drum coupled with remarks like "If he doesn't like this country he should leave, what an un-american prick, what does he know about oppression etc etc".

But to my surprise, I've seen a lot of people my age on Facebook beating that same drum.

People even say that he is in no position to take a stand, that he is incredibly privileged in both his personal and professional life.

Now, saying someone is too privileged to speak out about something just makes you look like a dickhead.

When slavery was legal, there were white abolitionists speaking out for what they thought was right. Were they too privileged to speak up?

Personally, I respect when people of great influence make a stand. In fact, I almost consider it their duty.

Now if you are one of those people that get all verklempt about the sacrifice of the armed forces, I understand. They sacrificed their time, effort, and for many, their lives to protect our freedoms. I respect that. But by sitting down during the anthem, Colin Kaepernick is addressing the fact that our political systems needs to respect the sacrifice of those soldiers by keeping up its end of the bargain.

It's not always comfortable to make a stand, to fight against the status quo, but someone has to.

Let's say you have this friend, and this friend of yours is an alcoholic in recovery.

Every night before dinner, everyone in the room stands up to make a cheers to your friends sobriety, but you know they have been drinking again.

Some of your other friends know too, but still raise their glass.

Do you?

Are you going to stand and salute something that is supposed to be true, but often times falls short?

Are you going to stand by while someone you love destroys themselves from within?

Or will you make a scene? Forcing people to recognize the truth of the matter, though painful and awkward, will urge them to make a change or relinquish the praise.

The American flag was never meant to be symbolic for the idea of freedom, but the reality of it.

We don't salute the flag because it represents the idea of freedom, we salute it because it is supposed to represent the reality of freedom.

But the good ol' US of A is failing to live up to that right now.

We live in a for-profit country.

The education, the political system, the health-care.

And our for-profit country engages in terribly expensive wars.

For oil, for control, for power.

Don't be so consumed by "rooting for the home team" that you forget that the home team is the world's biggest bully, and when it comes to education, healthcare, math & science, and the Global Peace index, the USA is nowhere to be found in the top 10.

So what do we love about America?

Well, the idea of America definitely. Land of the free, home of the brave. It's solid.

And don't get me wrong, I'm glad I live here. I grew up living an extremely privileged life, and I have the luxury to be writing this from my macbook air atop wonderfully polished granite countertops.

I could definitely be worse off.

But I could be better off, too.

We all could.

My old gym teacher used to tell me that "the biggest room in the house is the room for improvement", and that is the absolute truth.

This country needs a serious renovation, and I believe our election is proof of this.

If Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the "best two options" we have for president, and you think that is okay, you are seriously f'd in the head.

They represent what our country has come to.

On one hand, we've got the Goldman Sachs Mascot, and on the other we've got a Reality TV buffoon.

We've got police killing innocent civilians in our streets, armed forces killing innocents in foreign countries, an education system that cripples its students with debt, and a political system that rewards deception and vitreal.

AND marijuana is still illegal, I mean COME ON. Ridiculous.

If this is the America everyone is standing up and singing for, I don't think I really want any part of it either.

You can catch me on the bench (much like my high school sports days) chillin' with Kaepernick, striving to make a change.

cue orchestra playing GOD BLESS AMERICA
fireworks go off
giant banners of Edward Snowden's face descend from the rafters
rips shirt off to reveal "GO VEGAN" t shirt
Everyone in America chants 'END THE FED' in unison
world peace is achieved