I am a firm believer that the only way to become more intelligent in a situation is to listen and view both sides of an argument. A true intellect would look outside their views and set aside their differences to look at the bigger picture.

I fear for our country; not because of the leader that was elected but because we are more divided than we have been in a while. I see hate on the streets, hate on social media, and I see hate within friends and family for what they believe in. I am not saying that I am particularly happy about the election (I feel the backlash of this). I am not saying that you do not have the right to complain because you do. I am saying we need to unite now more than ever. I am saying that we need to be the change we want to see. I am saying that we need to stop the hate from both sides and unite.

I am seeing all these riots in the major cities of America. The millennials, which age group I am apart of, believe that their voices were not heard in this election and they are right. They feel that a monster has taken office and they fear for their rights, they are entitled to their fear, given what they have been told. You hear on the media the acceptance of xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, and racism. You see on the media people posting on social media things that seem offensive and downright racist. I am not saying that you shouldn’t be offended, I am saying you need to stick to what is morally right and stand up for it. Violence is not always the answer and should be the last resort to most situations.

I feel bad for our country. I feel bad that people are fearful to leave their houses because they are scared of what might happen to them. I feel bad for our children that are fearful to go to school because of the discrimination that they experience. I feel bad for the people that cannot practice their own religions at their place of worship because they are scared of what might happen there. I feel bad that our children are witnessing a country full of fear. Fear of change, fear of improvement, fear of people who are no different from me or you.

The United States was built on the foundations of freedom. I am not talking about minor freedom, I am speaking of free speech, free religion, freedom of press, freedom of expression. Do not believe me? Look at our Constitution. Look at the Amendments. Our founding fathers originally had in mind, feeling oppressed by England, to have a country not based on fear but on that of acceptance. We are all allowed to express the way we feel but it is morally wrong to be hateful towards a person because of their skin tone, gender, sexual preference, sexual orientation, economic class, and their religion.

I believe in fighting for the people who can not defend themselves and this is where I stand. I will fight for the people who are being oppressed. I will defend the people who are afraid to leave their houses. I will defend a person to their face or behind their back if someone were to make a hateful statement. I promise I will protect the people of the United States regardless of their skin tone, their race, their religion, their sexual orientation, their gender, etc. because I believe it is morally wrong to treat people like they nothing based on things that they cannot help.

The only person to change this country for the better is you. YOU have the ability to change the system. YOU need to show the world that the United States is built on FREEDOM. Show the world that in the United States we are more than about violence and a party system. Show the world that the United States can be united as one.