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          Kate Harris and Tracy Barrett effectively expose the audience to a wonderful, impacting piece of work. They begin the article by asking a great question," What is the purpose of patriotism." By asking this question, the authors not only makes the audience think, but also establishes what the rest of the article will be revolving around. Next, they introduce us to who they will be utilizing within their article and how they relate to the topic at hand. Frederick Douglass, who was a slave in the 1800s, is introduced to us. He was able to escape to the north and was well known as an author in the 1850s. Douglass gave a speech on July 5 known as, "What to the slave is the Fourth of July?" The authors describe how his speech  began as a common one. Establishing points where no one could disagree, but during his speech, he took a turn. He said that being black, he could not celebrate the Fourth of July the same way others could. During his speech, Douglass gets the audience to understand that slaves are excluded during the holiday. The authors then switch to Kaepernick, who chose to kneel during the national anthem at football games. His reasons being ugly presidential campaigns, police violence towards African Americans, and the inability to resolve the immigration issue. David Brooks speaks out against this protest saying that the anthem is an ideal to look up to and if any high school student were to attempt it, it would be losing shared identity and risking disunity. 

          In my personal opinion, I agree. From background knowledge, we are all aware on how slaves were treating. Frederick Douglass does an exceptional job in presenting his argument. The country says it is celebrating freedom or independence, but those who are slaves, how is it possible to celebrate freedom or independence when you are "property" of another person simply because of the color of their skin? The fact that they chose a well known activist like Frederick Douglass to compare Colin's choice to protest is crucial. It is evident that racism occurs within the country. As the article mentioned, a terrible presidential campaign clearly depicts racism is an issue. Being part of a democracy, it is anyone's right to protest, peacefully. Choosing to kneel during the anthem is a right a citizen has. In terms of David Brooks, I agree as well. The national anthem does create a sense of unity and has been part of American tradition for years. Seeing that a lot of the country has pride in what we are, I can see why people would be insulted and why disunity is encouraged. However, the freedom to protest is part of being American. One can not say they are proud of America, but be upset when someone exercises their right to be American. Overall, no one will ever think the same. Racism will exist, there will be hatred. Being part of this society does include being able to protest, whether it's liked or not.