photo: commons.wikimedia.org
We are all part of the human race.
As much as there are certain people of power in this nation, and their followers, who continue to believe otherwise, it's true.
In a day we all should be celebrating our freedoms, more and more is being done to undo years of progress, preventing scores of people to truly feel free, to feel safe.
All done in the name of "Making America Great Again". America was pretty great, until late January of 2017.
Here's what making America great should look like:
- A person should have a right to live the way they choose and to pursue that life, within the constraints of laws, of course. (life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness)
- A person should be able to live without fear of being discriminated against, without judging looks, without have to walk in a neighborhood without being suspicious.
- Equality.
Here's what the slogan as coined by ol' 45 truly embodies:
- Let's go back to a smaller, whiter, more conservative time.
- Let's only think of ourselves and those like us, not others that might need the occasional pick-me-up.
- Screw equality.
We are at a crucial moment in our timeline.
Our moments are tiny blips on the grand scale of the universe. That being the case, we still want to make our marks, whether that be with a job, a family, a contribution or to simply live with joy in the time we have.
Hate as always been present, and most likely, always will be, but it has sprouted forth with enormous growth over the past few years.
Social media has allowed this type of behavior to move into the forefront. Where once the majority of people simply spoke hateful things behind closed doors, among friends and family, a platform has been given to many spout whatever vitriol and hate comes to their mind.
Why is there such a lack of empathy among people? And how much of the vile things seen on the internet is due to a president who easily attacks with words? He can do this so his followers do the same.
Words erupt on both sides, left and right, religious vs non.
There is a difference between being strong and standing for your convictions versus what ol' 45 does. Political correctness has gone too far to an extent but that is no excuse.
Unfortunately, the United States of America has a man in charge not building towards a better world. This is a man hell bent on destroying the legacy of a man simply out of spite. The current president is man that has a disregard for regulations and policies put in place to give generations ahead of us a decent future. For a group of people who want less regulations they sure care a lot about regulating a woman's body.
Speaking of which, religion does not belong in government. People should have the right to worship or not worship a God/Gods/no God of their choice. And if they don't judge you for your choice, you shouldn't judge them.
Judgement is what it comes back to. Judging one by their looks, the color of the skin, their appearance, their religion, their clothing, etc. Instead of judging, perhaps it's time to walk a mile in another's shoes (a literal mile, if you prefer). Judging an entire religion based off a radical few. Judging a group of people because of a few rotten eggs. Promoting intolerance and hate and fear mongering (on baseless opinions/accusations or expanding on limited data when there are much greater threats in our nation).
The path we are headed down is not a good one. We are a melting pot, and for better or worse, always have been. We're celebrating 241 years of being independent, but there are scores of people in this country who currently don't feel that way.
And for a country claiming to be great, to be the land of the free and the home of the brave, these last six months have felt far from it.
So Happy Birthday, America. I am thankful for the freedoms I have, the troops that have fought to protect them, and the people who have made it a great place to live. And I'm thankful for the endless hard work people are doing to secure freedoms and independence they so rightfully desire.
And I hope one day progress can begin again and people around me, near and far, can live a life without fear. And they can pursue their happiness without fear of persecution, discrimination, and judgement hanging over their head.
Because that's what America should be. Instead, we have a country taking two steps back, further away from the greatness and hope the nation once stood for.
But hey, at least we have coal.
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