In week three of the NFL games, according to CBS, over 200 football players knelt during our national Anthem. There has been a split response in our country on whether if this is disrespectful or if it is just the football players right to protest. I do think that this event would have been disrespectful if the players did not have a particular reason as to why they knelt, but, they have a reason so I agree with them kneeling. Throughout this essay, you will read how the kneeling is not about disrespect for our veterans but rather because the players feel oppressed by our country.
So, why exactly are the NFL players kneeling during the anthem? According to Colin Kaepernick’s opinion, he states that, “I’m not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” Kaepernick is the first who knelt and his reasoning is not something people should use against him. Think of it from his perspective, why stand for a flag that represents our country when our country does not treat colored people very justly? It is his freedom of speech given to him (and everyone else) by the first amendment of the Constitution. Even an American Politician, Jackson Lee, agrees with
his protest by saying, “I kneel because the flag is a symbol of freedom. I kneel because I am going to stand against racism.” Again, this is not at all about disrespect for our country. It’s just a protest for better freedom in this country. Though, our president says otherwise.
This protest was not even a big event until the Donald Trump started to state his opinions. Like Bob Costas has said, “What’s happened here is that what was already an issue, raised primarily by Colin Kaepernick’s valid point, has now become universal with the president’s insulting remarks.” Trump has said that the felt that the NFL players who knelt should have been fired, of course they did not get fired but that’s besides the point. More than half of the Americans agree with Trump because it is not about Trump being against anyone, it’s about standing for something by honoring the flag, the national anthem, and men and women who have fought to defend it. Trump goes along with this by stating, “This has nothing to do with race. I never said anything about race. This has nothing to race or anything else. This has to do with respect for our country and respect for our flag.” The thing is, this has everything to do with race and nothing to do with respect. The NFL players did not set out to purposely disrespect the flag but rather to protest the fact that this country is not completely fair towards African Americans and other ‘colored’ skin people. It’s kind of insane how blind Trump is to do situation. Again, like Costas has said, “Do you want a president of the United States who, even if you’re giving them the benefit of doubt, is so tone deaf to the racial implications of this?”
In conclusion, this is not some mere disrespect that NFL players are showing, this event is a protest for a better country. We should all realize the importance of this protest because if we don’t have a completely free and fair country, then why do we have a flag? Our flag is a symbol of freedom. If people feel oppressed, then they should be able to stand up for their freedom without any backlash from anyone else. Everyone has the right to their freedom of speech.
What exactly is a Personal Legend? Does everyone achieve it? A Personal Legend is everyone’s final destination. To achieve it, a person needs to change themselves into something that was better than they were before. Everyone can achieve it if they follow the language of the world but some don’t follow it. It’s just like the crystal merchant from the Alchemist, he knew that his Personal Legend was to go to Mecca but he didn’t go because he felt that if he did, he would have to live life with no purpose. He thought that if he accomplished his dream, he would have no other dreams and he would lose all that he had. This is an obstacle that many might face when they are following their Personal Legend. They feel as if they will lose everything they have if they follow their Personal Legend. Although, not achieving your Personal Legend is worse than losing all that you have. Achieving your Personal Legend means that you have accomplished something in your life. It rewards you with more than what you had before accomplishing it. Another misconception about Personal Legends is that they only give you a treasure in the end, but that’s not the case. As mentioned before, achieving your Personal Legend means that you have transformed yourself into a better person. It means that you have gaine 
d a lot of knowledge which I think is even more important than the treasure itself because with knowledge, you can get more riches. A very good example of why the knowledge gained from your Personal Legend is more important than the treasure itself is written in an old manuscript. In the Old Testament of the Christian Holy Bible, there is a man named Solomon, King Solomon to be exact. God came to him in a dream and gave Solomon the opportunity to wish for anything he desires.
While most would wish for being rich, Solomon wished for wisdom and knowledge. And from these wishes, wisdom and knowledge, Solomon still ended up being a very rich man because he was knowledgeable about his money. From this, you can see that being rich or having treasure is not as important as the knowledge and experience
gained from one’s Personal Legend. Another thing about Personal Legends is that they are perceived as the kind that Santiago went through in the Alchemist. So in short, far away. People probably see this as an obstacle because they think that to achieve their Personal Legend, they have to go above and beyond. What most miss is that your Personal Legend
does not have to be so far away. In the Alchemist, while Santiago did go through a great journey, his treasure ended up being at the tree from the beginning of the story. This ties to the fact that Personal Legends are not actually so far away. Every one is able to achieve because it is closer than you really think, but many still don’t and end up like the crystal merchant without the fulfillment of something they have achieved. Then again, while the crystal merchant did not fulfill his Personal Legend, he still did help Santiago follow his. The crystal merchant’s story helped Santiago realize that he needed to go. If you do decide to go on your Personal Legend, you will encounter people like the crystal legend and they will help you realize that you need to keep on going. We can also find a mentor kind of person, like the alchemist, to push us in the right direction.
the destruction of the flood, or the people affected, and it even explains to us how this is a very catastrophic flood compared to other floods that have hit Texas.
are true troopers if they went through this without even being remiss. They instead got mattresses and blow up pool toys to survive this flooding. To summarize this all up, Michael Graczyk has done an excellent job to make us emotive towards this flooding by really showing us how tragic this event has been. Maybe this really is the “fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in 13 years.”\