It is one’s civil and patriotic duty to try and change what is wrong in the world, whether or not you have a platform from which you can reach millions, or you are simply a student in a 500-member high school. Denying the constitutional right for someone to peacefully stand up for something they believe must be changed is the opposite of patriotic. Ever since Colin Kaepernick took a knee on September 1, 2016, we as a country have been divided over whether or not NFL players should stand sit or kneel during the National Anthem.

The argument has gotten so ugly that it’s made football, one of America’s most loved pastimes and a sport that should unite us, plain exhausting to watch. It’s no wonder ratings are down–people are tired of fighting–at least we as a staff are.

There are many points of view, and each have reasoning behind them.But whether or not one stands, sits, or simply supports someone who kneels, we are all Americans, and we as one country must not let the deep roots of prejudice and ignorance divide us.

Racial prejudice does exist, bad cops do exist, but what is often forgotten are the good cops, and the instances where racial prejudice has been overcome. What has been lost in this battle of words and an- ger is that we are the UNITED States. We were built on pro- test, but we have always come together to solve injustices instead of simply protesting and yelling about those who protest.

But there’s more than simply shutting up or speaking out. People can not let their proverbial bark be bigger than their bite. In other words, If you’re going to protest, then you should take action against the cause you are protesting. Colin Kaepernick started by peacefully protesting, but he also said he would do- nate one million dollars plus all the proceeds of his jersey sales from the 2016 season to organizations working in oppressed communities: $100 thousand a month for 10 months.

We students have been taught by our World and American History teachers that it is an American consti- tutional right to protest peacefully. Citizens have the right to stand, sit, or kneel. People all over the globe wish and pray for the right to speak their minds about injustices. But we Americans, the people who already have this right, more often than not take that right for granted.

We claim that right for ourselves when it suits us, and then turn around and deny in others when it doesn’t match up with our personal beliefs. Even though we, the Red Ink Staff, disagree over the issue of kneeling during the anthem, we agree that we will stand for people’s right to peacefully protest injustice.The bottom line for us, however, is this: If you say that there is something wrong with the world, and then do nothing to change it, you become part of the problem. Make your life speak your words.