New U. S. citizen to Kaepernick: Stand up

After 19 years living in the United States, I became a U. S. citizen on Aug. 26. This was the day that I had dreamed of since I was a little boy obsessed with American sports and culture growing up in Montreal, Canada.

The United States of America afforded me the opportunity to study law and work as a tax attorney in New York City for almost 10 years. I was then able to use that knowledge to start my own retirement trust company.

That night while I was going to bed for the first time as a U. S. citizen, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem. When addressing the news media on his protest, he stated, “There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” He went on to say, “When there’s significant change — and I feel like that flag represents what it’s supposed to represent, and this country is representing people the way it’s supposed to — I’ll stand.”

I have enjoyed watching Kaepernick over the years. He led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2012 as a rookie. Kaepernick, raised by two white parents after his birth parents were not willing or able to raise him, has a net worth of more than $ 20 million from playing football.

The Constitution allows Kaepernick every opportunity to protest, complain or dispute almost any social or political perceived wrong within the confines of the law, including not standing for the playing of the national anthem. But that doesn’t make it right. The United States was founded on the principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I should know, because I studied these principles in preparation for my citizenship test. From slavery to the women’s suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, anti- war protests and gay and lesbians rights, America has had its challenges and will continue to have its challenges, just like every other country.

Unlike most other countries, the United States will gain strength from its challenges, and they will help it evolve into a stronger and even more democratic, unified country.

I applaud Kaepernick for taking on an important social problem and standing up for what he believes in. Standing up for what one believes in is one of the great virtues of this country, but in order for it to have its intended effect, the protest must be directed at the appropriate source.

If Kaepernick wants to protest police brutality, then by all means he should direct his protest at the police, the appropriate government agencies or individuals. By directing his protest at the Starspangled Banner, Kaepernick, who himself is living the American dream, is disrespecting the cultural significance we Americans place on the flag and share as a country. He is undermining the national, cultural and patriotic events that were its foundation. As a new U. S. citizen, his behavior makes me cringe.

I can only hope that as Kaepernick is sitting during the playing of our great national anthem, he remembers that he is allowed to sit because he is in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Adam Bergman is a senior tax partner with the IRA Financial Group.