Ever since “American Sniper” came into theaters early this year, controversy has erupted throughout the county. Liberals everywhere, especially in Hollywood, are slamming the Oscar nominee “American Sniper” for being so-called racist, Islamophobic, war propaganda, and even calling Chris Kyle a sociopath. Celebrities like Seth Rogen and Michael Moore have publicly denounced the film over social media several times, with Moore tweeting that snipers are “cowards.”

Unfortunately, I have been witness to Staples students denouncing the film as well.  Yes, this is the 5-star, top grossing film of 2014 and according to CNN, the best rated warfare movie of all time that we are talking about.

All of these negative claims are absolute garbage.

“American Sniper” was a beautifully directed film. The movie perfectly captures the essence of warfare and the struggle that army families have to deal with every single day. Bradley Cooper displays the evils of PTSD extremely well, representing Chris Kyle to a tee.

“American Sniper” is in no way Islamophobic, racist, or war propaganda. The movie includes scenes where Kyle is in direct warfare with members of Taliban and other terrorist groups, all of which are enemies of the United States. Chris Kyle was doing his duty when he killed American enemies and that’s that. There’s a reason why Kyle is so frequently referred to as “The Legend.”

Nothing angers me more than hearing students at Staples insulting Chris Kyle. Kyle fought for the safety of Americans and truly loved this country. I’ve listened to students call Kyle “evil”- but at the end of the day, he was still just a normal guy. According to D Magazine, Kyle loved the University of Texas Longhorns, the Dallas Cowboys, looking at historic artifacts at the Alamo, and spending time with his family.

Yes, Chris Kyle killed people, but he killed enemies of this country, Islamic extremists who are taught to hate America to the core. Not only did Kyle have 161 confirmed kills during the Iraq war, but he saved the lives of hundreds of his own men in the process.

Kyle wrote in his book “American Sniper: Memorial Edition” that “MY REGRETS ARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE I COULDN’T SAVE—Marines, soldiers, my buddies. I still feel their loss. I still ache for my failure to protect them.”

Students at Staples should be taught to honor the men and women who put their lives on the line for us every single day, not disrespect them. Veterans and people in service today deserve all the respect they can get, and don’t need the self-righteous young generation of Americans acting as though they understand the effects and circumstances of warfare.

The criticism of Chris Kyle’s morality as a soldier is absurd. Kyle loved the men he protected, his country, and his family back home. How can one judge a man’s decisions to kill so profusely when they have been nowhere near the circumstances of wartime, let alone ever put in a life-threatening situation? Half of the people slamming “American Sniper” wouldn’t know how to tie Kyle’s combat boots.

At the end of the day, none of us at home can judge warfare or the mindset of the men and women fighting for our independence. Instead of calling heroes like Chris Kyle “murderers” for killing truly evil terrorists, students should think twice about the sacrifice that service people make everyday for our comfort and safety.

Honoring veterans is a lesson that needs to be taught to every single person in America, no matter their political party or preference.