Dear Future of America,

After the election of your 45^th president, I saw an article written about Hispanic children in a Michigan school who were met with the chant, “Build that wall”, just days after Donald Trump won the election.

Children are known to be mean to one another; the phenomenon of bullying is as old as time. But for some odd reason, because I knew the vile chants from these children were the direct result of the rhetoric initiated by Donald Trump, my heart sank.

But quickly I realized this issue goes far beyond bullying. The matter lies at the heart of the fact that this very picture of people demeaning others based on their ethnicity, religion or sexuality could very likely be you, the future of America: an America filled with hatred and anger towards those who come across as “different”.

And the only reason I’m saying this is because as a society right now, we are slowly seeing this unfold: the affliction with a disease of racism, homophobia or just sheer ignorance, still in 2017.

It’s this hatred that has made young children feel that they are “less than”, and their classmates feel “greater than” simply because of the color of their skin. It has made young girls feel ashamed or afraid to wear a simple article of clothing around their head. Or made someone feel like they can’t be who they want to be. It’s as if everyone has a label even before they are born and are expected to act upon this societal label.

Why hasn’t this changed, you ask? The answer: hypocrisy. You see, some people in this country say that they oppose extremist views but balk when the word “racism” or “sexism” is used. In fact, when these individuals use hate speech, they deny it is a result of racism or sexism. They feel that if they don’t wear a white sheet or say the “n” word, the marks of hatred in their speech and attitude are not expressed. Because when they hide behind figures like Donald Trump, whose rhetoric directly supports racism and misogyny, it has become somehow “acceptable” to support this idea. These people have allowed this tradition of demeaning people to continue during your time. So you owe your “thanks” to them.

Sadly, I cannot hope for this hatred to be abated. In order for this to happen, people would have to admit that their hatred is real which is unlike that they will do so. As when contrasting opinions are presented, many simply tag them with the word "bias".

But I ask you this: am I biased to say that everyone should be treated equally? Am I biased if I say that we shouldn’t tell innocent people to “get out of my country”? Am I biased to allow people to be who they want to be?

Every day I turn on the news, I am so burdened by all the fights, the yelling, the anger and the vile behavior that takes place within this country. And I couldn’t help but wonder if this is the world I want future generations to live in.

So on the behalf of the present United States of America, I’m sorry. I am sorry you have to live in a time in which people can’t stand one another and turn to anger. I am sorry you live in a time where, though the law says it’s okay, it is still not socially acceptable. I’m sorry you live in a time where you have to hide your troubles in the thought of being labeled “weak”. I am sorry people still can't accept everyone for who they are.

Is this what you want for your future generations? Do you want to apologize to the next generations for the demeaning world they have to now live in, simply because you ignored it? The future of America could be as far away as 20 years from now, or as close as tomorrow. So it's up to you if you want to wait for someone else to make a better tomorrow, or stand up and do it yourself.

Sincerely,

A very "biased" individual