Dear America:

Ever since I was a child, I was a patriot, a ‘true’ American girl. We all were, at that age—we had inborn loyalty, a nationalistic quality that children tend have. Everyone I know now, however, has grown out of that stage, telling me stories about how our soldiers are proud but fighting for no cause, how our president is an idiot (or was, until Obama got elected), and how the people in our country are not at fault but our forefathers are.

But I never grew out of the nationalism stage.

People of America, listen! We are one body, we are a single people, despite the media telling you otherwise. Society is what we call the human race when it’s separate, divided. However America was only split from England, America only gained independence because we, the disperse and opposite people fighting for a sole cause, united! That is our name, isn’t it? The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. How dare we divide, how dare we prejudice and discriminate our brothers and our sisters! You may have blood of another nation, but when it comes down to it, we are all the people of the U.S.A. Democracy, freedom of speech, religion, the press—that is a right guaranteed to each of us because we were trusted not to abuse it!

I have but one thing to say to the people who think they would rather be dead than be American citizens. Have you no shame? Throughout the years of our country, millions of people have died to give you YOUR freedom! We have no one to blame but ourselves when we make a mistake, because that is the nature of our constitution: our government is ruled by the people!

We are by no means a perfect country, but our people have morals, we have standards that our forefathers died to protect. Who are we to claim we are better than that? As citizens, as humans inhabiting this earth, we OWE it to our ancestors to keep the dream alive—and in this country, our dream is to never give up. Keep moving, keep praying, keep fighting, people of America! We will overcome our weakness, and we will be stronger because of it.

God bless.