In America we have the freedom to express our views, unpopular as some people may find them to be. NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick did just that when he chose to sit for the national anthem. He did this, he says, to draw attention to the unfair treatment of blacks and minorities in our country.
As you can expect many people were for or against his actions. Those who did not support his decision felt he was acting unpatriotic and disrespecting those who have fought to keep our country free. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was especially vocal regarding Kaepernick.
Trump lashed out, insinuating that if the NFL player was not happy with this country, Kaepernick was free to find another country that he may be more comfortable living in.
The White House, on the other hand, was more diplomatic in their response. Press Secretary Josh Ernst released a statement from President Obama that emphasized that while he may not personally share the same opinion as Kaepernick, it is his right as an American to voice his opinion and express his thoughts, just as it is our right to disagree with those thoughts.
It is this freedom of speech that our country holds so dear that Donald Trump appears to want to silence. When he hears something he does not agree with, his first response is to kick the culprit out of the country.
This is not the kind of president our country needs to move us forward into the 21st century. Trump has shown time and again that he has little patience for those he views as undesirable. Donald Trump is not fit to run a country. He is a personality that enjoys his newfound celebrity. America needs a leader who possesses diplomacy and compassion, not a bully that only wants to hear an opinion if it matches his own.