Over the last year or so, I have become so ashamed to call myself an American. I accept that I am lucky to live in a country where people have died to protect my freedom. I accept that I am privileged to have been born in one of the most advanced nations in the world. However, it is also important for me to accept that I have a lot of the privileges that I do, even if I haven't earned them, because I am white. It is as a privileged white American that I come forward with shame in my heart to apologize to any person in this country, or the rest of the world, that has been hurt by the people like me.

In November, millions of Americans made the decision to support and elect Donald Trump as President of the United States. Not because he had necessarily earned it, but because he promised to, "Make America Great Again." But what does that promise mean? What sort of mythical past is he referring to? If you check any history book, it doesn't take long to realize that there are a lot of times that one could consider America "great," but the issue is that all of these times were only ever great for one kind of person: straight white people.

So, when President Donald Trump shouts his promises to, "Make America Great Again," one can only assume that he's referring to one of the times when at least one, but probably more, groups of marginalized Americans did not enjoy the same civil liberties and privileges as the dominant group.

It is because of that notion, which over 61 million Americans supported whether they were glad to do so or not, that I am ashamed to call myself an American. And, on behalf of my country, I am so sorry.

I am sorry for every immigrant that has felt shamed and attacked by the people of this nation, that was built by and for immigrants, who seem to so easily forget how they came to be here themselves. The only people of this nation whose families were not once aliens are the Native Americans, and the arrival of the white man destroyed their presence here, which we can never let ourselves forget.

I am sorry for every African American that has felt the hatred coming from a white man's promise to, "Make America Great Again," when America has never truly been great for them to begin with. After fighting racism and inequality for centuries, the fight is still not over, and that is just unacceptable. Black Lives Matter. Black rights matter. Black Americans matter.

I am sorry for every member of the LGBTQIA+ community who has been made to feel like they cannot ever be loved or accepted for who they are. After finally achieving true equality less than two years ago, it is heartbreaking to see those new liberties already being threatened by a man whose chosen running mate, Mike Pence, openly supports heinous treatment of LGBTQIA+ Americans.

I am sorry to every follower of Islam, and any other religion other than Christianity, who has been painted as a villain in a nation that refuses to separate the majority from a few groups of extremists. Everyone has no problem making the differences between groups like the KKK and Westboro Baptist Church and "real" Christians clear, but when it comes to differentiating between innocent Muslim Americans and terrorist groups that claim the same faith, suddenly people lose the power to defend the peaceful majority.

I am sorry for every mentally or physically disabled person who felt mocked or victimized by a man on national television, that now has to watch that same man address them daily as their president.

I am sorry for every victim of sexual assault, whether they were white or not, who felt threatened and mocked by a candidate who proudly claimed that he could grab someone however he wanted and get away with it. I am so ashamed that millions of people could not put themselves in your shoes, and realize that his "locker room talk" was unacceptable, no matter his true intentions.

I am so incredibly sorry for any innocent person, any nation, and any community anywhere in the world that is scared or will suffer the consequences of my country's carelessness in electing a reckless and inexperienced man based on a platform of nothing but hate, division, and white supremacy. The future of our world is so unpredictable right now, and I fear that it could only become worse before it gets better.

America has always been great, but not because it was white. America is great because of its diversity. America is great because of its people's passion to stand up for what they believe in. America is great because it is a melting pot of all different kinds of people, all working together to make a great nation. America is great because despite our current circumstances, we will not let ourselves be taken down by a man that is a champion of hatred.

The American people will keep marching, protesting, rallying, and doing whatever we have to do as a nation to let the world know that this is not the America we wish to be. This is not the America people, including some of the immigrants we demonize today, fought and died for us to be. This is not what our ancestors hoped that America would be. And this is not what America looks like.