I want to begin this article by saying that I was raised to be about as patriotic as it gets. I was born and bred in the "Bible belt" where we learned to say "thank you for your service" before we could even comprehend what those words truly meant. My father is a highly respected and high-ranking Houston firefighter, and he is following in the footsteps of three prior generations of Houston firefighters within our direct lineage. My maternal grandfather served in the U.S. Army, and I have multiple family members and personal friends who have served and/or are currently serving in our nation's military. And lastly (probably most important), my husband is currently serving as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, as well. So I think it goes without saying that I have the utmost admiration and respect for public servants and first responders of all kinds.

I love our nation's military and I love this nation. But I am not a blind patriot with my head stuck in the sand. I will always support our troops, but I will very rarely support the ugly wars that we fight (both literal and figurative) across national borders and/or within our own walls.

I will be the first person to admit that this great nation in which we love so dearly is filled with hatred, ugly politics, extreme corruption and institutionalized oppression and racism (just to name a few). I love America and I am grateful that I live here, but I am not blind to America's obvious flaws.

War and political nonsense aside though, I think it is worth noting that America is already great, but let's not be ignorant, America is certainly not the "land of the free" for every race, religion and sexual orientation out there. So let's stop treating it as such. The sooner we can recognize our legitimate internal problems, the better off we will be. Our gullibility is getting us nowhere.