America, the land of the unfair, and the home of the cowards. Why would I bash America right after Independence Day? Because America is far from free. We are a United States of America with a divided state of ideals. You don’t see what’s wrong with America? Let us take a closer look.
America just celebrated its independence, yet Alton Sterling, a black man, has been killed by police for selling CDs. Police brutality: an action people are becoming used to. We celebrate Independence Day when our nation is not even free. America still stands, but we stand divided. We live in a nation where white privilege is the only privilege, black America is not free, and white America constantly gets away with murder… But wait a second. Aren’t we the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
No, we are not. Our own National Anthem is filled with lies. We are truthfully the land of the unfair, and the home of the cowards. Not everyone will understand this statement, which is why I will provide elaborate analysis. Let us begin this in depth analysis with, “the land of the unfair”. We are called the land of the free, but what is America’s definition of free? It is that a white man can shoot nine people in a church and get arrested calmly. It is that a white man can rape a woman and “have his dreams crushed." It is that police officers can kill black people, on camera, and be pronounced “not guilty" by the court. It is that black people cannot listen to their music at a loud volume, sell CDs, wear a hood, or drive without being pulled over. It is that black people can be pinned down, attacked, or unarmed, and still be killed because they “look threatening” and all the rights they fought for are nothing to white America.
This nation is anything but fair. Martin Luther King Jr. once dreamed that people would, “Not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." It is 2016 America, but we cannot see passed skin color. The Constitution is said to be colorblind, but the hearts of our nation aren’t. Black parents now have to teach their children that the color of their skin is more visible than the love in their hearts.
Why do I call America “the home of the cowards”? Americans can see black people being killed off although they say, “that’s horrible," “this isn’t OK," “this is wrong," and “that’s a shame." America can say it is wrong, but they watch the tragedies on the news and continue on with their lives. Change starts with action, and America’s actions an unethical. People can say it is terrible, but there are no changes taking place in the system. If you do nothing about a situation, you are an enemy. Remember that bystanders are implicit bullies. If you are talking about how wrong black people are treated but take no action, sit down. What help are you if you are taking no action?
Maybe one day #blacklivesmatter will make a difference, or maybe #whiteprivilege will continue to slant the system.
