What does it mean to be an American? Is it just a fancy name to call the citizens of the United States? Or is it something more? Being an American, in my opinion, is a prideful, yet strong-minded task. You can be born and raised here, or an immigrant from another country. Whichever way you arrived to the United States, you have taken the time to become an American. We were made to be free.

Free to choose, free to live, and free to prosper; all with a fine line of boundaries. When we were established, so were a group of guidelines to help curve the American way of life. These guidelines, however, have been tested in the past several years to the point where we question our country in its entirety.

I am sure we are all aware of the most recent ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ controversy. Should we or should we not have ‘Under God’ in our pledge. This debate battered back and forth until it finally booted itself out of the main headlines. However, in the past week, I ran across a picture on the internet that caught my attention.

The picture was of a permission slip handed to a student to be signed by their parent. This permission slip was for the parent to decide whether they want their children to say the Pledge of Allegiance or not. With a short glance, I instantly became infuriated. Being a young scholar, I decided not to jump to conclusions. Instead, I found a trusting article to give me the story straight.

To no surprise, the picture didn’t lie. The school, in fact, sent out permission slips to help protect the freedom of the parents. With a whole heart, I understand the intentions behind such an act. With saying that, I am also hurt, as a proud American, to see this being instilled in our school system.

Children are the next generation of leaders. If we cannot teach them to be proud of their country and values, then how can we count on them to stand for our country in a desperate time of need. This whole situation goes hand-in-hand with the even more recent Colin Kaepernick event. Although he has the right to sit in front of our countries flag, does not mean that he is right in doing so.

With freedom, comes morals and respect. We might not agree with events happening in our country, but that does not mean we will turn our back on it. Instead, we will trust in our country to make the right choices to a brighter future. Lately times are hard, but I am confident that there will be brighter days ahead. Freedom of choice is widely exercised, and can be excused in some cases, but I would never expect to be asked permission to be an American.