In June of 1944, the Allied Forces during the Second World War stormed the beaches of Normandy, France in order to liberate the German-occupied northwestern region of Europe. That day, approximately 2,499 Americans lost their lives alongside 1,914 other Allied troops. Now imagine being a World War II veteran who stormed Normandy to tear down the fascist Nazi regime's banners only to see so-called "patriotic Americans" proudly toting swastikas in 2017.

President Donald Trump on Saturday condemned the violence that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, where thousands of neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, and other degenerates gathered brandishing guns, torches, and Confederate flags. But to the elation of Nazis online and armed militiamen in the streets of Charlottesville, Trump declined to distance the White House from the hate groups who’d initially gathered in Charlottesville to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Instead, the president condemned “hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides.”

During a brief, informal press conference from his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., the president made absolutely no mention of the white supremacists involved in the Charlottesville violence. "It's (violence and disorder) been going on for a long time in our country. It's not Donald Trump, it's not Barack Obama," stated Trump.

Trump's failure to condemn these supremacists was met by praise from them. The Daily Stormer, a leading American neo-Nazi website affiliated with the "alt-right" movement, stated, "Trump comments were good. He didn't attack us, He just said the nation should come together. Nothing specific against us... He said he loves us all... No condemnation at all... When asked to condemn, he just walked out of the room... God bless him." As stated, the Stormer noted that when asked a question about the white nationalists supporting him following the press conference and a request to condemn the supremacists was made, Trump simply left the room, ignoring the elephant in the room.

Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke appearing at the "Unite the Right" rally prior to the violence that day also stated, "This represents a turning point for the people of this country,” Duke said. “We are determined to take our country back, we’re going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump, and that’s what we believed in, that’s why we voted for Donald Trump because he said he’s going to take our country back and that’s what we gotta do.”

White supremacy, neo-nazism, neo-confederate ideas, the Ku Klux Klan; in today's world, there is no place for such hate. Masquerading themselves as "patriots," these individuals are anything but patriots. Their goal as a collective group is to impurify America to fit their image of what America is supposed to be: White, Christian, Aryan, with all those who do not fit their standards classified as sub-humans. However, these people are no more a patriot than the North Koreans who threaten to level the great cities of this nation or the Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler whose hands were tainted with the blood of six-million Jews. Beginning with the first ships that came to Jamestown, Va. in 1607, all Americans, excluding Native Americans, were immigrants. The different nationalities, religions, ethnicities, and sexes that are united to create this nation are necessary and as vital as the colors in a painting.

As a nation, we will come out on the other side stronger than ever before. Hate and bigotry will not break the American spirit. And a simple reminder to those white supremacists, neo-nazis, and neo-confederates: being American is not about who you are. It is about the morals and values in which you carry within yourself during your everyday life.