"... Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" are words that most of us recited every morning of our public school lives during the Pledge of Allegiance. Many, like myself wonder where those words apply to our current society. Right now our country is the most divided it has been in most of our lifetimes. Issues of race, violence, and abuse of power separate our nation.
After the killing of two black men by police officers a man opened fire at a protest in Dallas shooting twelve officers and killing five. The man who carried our these shootings was a U.S. Army veteran and came to the attack armed with a semi-automatic weapon and a handgun. He told hostage negotiators that he "wanted to kill white people, especially white officers." This incident is the culmination of many issues we face- gun violence, police brutality, and race issues.
These issues are complex and multi-faceted. There is no clear solution. There is no right and wrong side of the argument, yet many people believe there is.
The separation we face only divides us more. Instead of brainstorming solutions to the actual problem we have become too caught up in hashtags and posting Facebook statuses on who is to blame. We talk about why people should use #BlackLivesMatter over #BlueLivesMatter over #AllLivesMatter instead of the root cause of the problem. We don't hold our leaders accountable and we don't force them to make change.
We need leadership that brings us together as the United States of America. We need leadership that puts the best interests of the country before their own.
Our society is more connected than it has ever been before and it is time that we use the connection for good. Use the connection for change and to better the country and the world as a whole. It is time that we come together as a country and unite for a better tomorrow.
Sheetal Tadiparty
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