Teen Ink is a place where teens nationwide can share their opinions about a plethora of topics. Recently, the piece “Ashamed to Be American?” by Delaney Davis caught my eye. Living in a liberal state and being born to a family of liberals, issues such as sexism, police brutality, and LGBT rights are prevalent in my life. I’m a pro-gay marriage, feminist teenager. I hate having to bite my tongue when sharing my feelings on these issues because the response is always, “If you hate America so much, why don’t you just leave?”

However, Delaney shared an extraordinarily well written piece eloquently explaining America’s problems, despite her pride at being an American and her love for this country. It’s shameful that our own police, who swore to protect and serve our country, kill citizens without blinking an eye. It’s shameful that a woman walking in the street in a short skirt is thought to be “asking for it.” It’s shameful that homophobia exists.

Yes, this country has issues, and we can’t sweep that fact under the rug. But I love my country and am proud to be an American. Or, as Delaney put it, “Of course, I am aware that I’m extremely privileged to have the freedoms that I have. I’m not taking them for granted … When America collectively makes a conscious effort to fix the long list of problems we have, I will never stop talking about how proud I am to be an American.”