Why Peaceful Protest Is Important

President Trump criticized NFL players who protest the national anthem, saying he wished those players would be fired. “Wouldn’t you love to see some of these NFL owners, when someone disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired! He’s fired!’”

Stopping peaceful protest isn’t the way forward.

Peaceful protest is one of the most important rights we have as Americans. The fact is that sometimes the government gets it wrong. Sometimes people who are in power commit terrible atrocities. Sometimes there are rules and laws that are unjust and unfair. There has to be an avenue to stand up, protest, and share one’s opinion publicly.

You may not agree with NFL players kneeling during the national anthem in protest—that’s fine. You may not support their cause. You may wish they protested in a different way. That’s fine too. But the right to peaceful protest is something we should all support.