Over the past couple of days, I've heard more and more disturbing news. The strange clown fiasco in South Carolina, a dismembered body found at a park in Grapevine, Texas, close to my hometown of Denton. Not to mention all of the hate that's being thrown around without cause. Police killing African-Americans because of the color of their skin. Threats to deport whole groups of people based on their religion.This election has good people doing insane things. It's scary.

Disappointed is the word I used to describe my feeling at first, and I'm still disappointed. However, after some thinking I realized that I was angry. Now if you ask anyone who knows me, they'll tell you I'm a very hard person to truly make angry. But that's what I am. I'm pissed off. And there are some things I'd like to say.

Dear America,

STOP IT. What are we thinking? We are letting people who call themselves "leaders" use us to further their own agendas. They have brainwashed us into feeding our hate. We have people talking about building a massive wall to keep out others who are just trying to make a better life for themselves or their family. We are talking about kicking out an entire race because of their religion. News flash: There's a reason America is called "The Melting Pot". America was founded on RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. I think we need to reevaluate what that means. We need to really take a look at who is doing these attacks because most of the time, it's not Muslims. It's the crazy (usually American) people who are so filled with hate they use another group's religion for their own malicious purposes.

Another thing: Black lives do matter. I'm so sick of people responding with "Well all lives matter". I agree; I believe every life is important. However, all lives aren't under attack right now. Black lives are. Hispanic lives are. Muslim lives are. Native American lives are. Let me ask you this: If you have two houses, and one is on fire, which one do you spray with water?

And to the Clown gang or whatever you guys are in South Carolina - stop. Seriously. Just stop.

We are so busy blaming others that we don't even realize what is going on in our own country. Education is in the toilet. Over half of the students going to public school in America are living in poverty. Schools don't have the supplies they need to function. School lunches are so unhealthy many students would rather go hungry than eat them. We aren't teaching kids to think, we are teaching them to memorize facts. We are teaching them that failure isn't an option. Many schools lack proper air conditioning/heating. We spend so much time looking outside of our borders we don't see the starving population right in front of us.

We need to take a serious look at ourselves. We spend so much time pointing the finger at other races or other cultures that we don't take the time to realize we are the cause of a lot of our problems. I firmly believe that humans are innately good. We are not born to spread hate. Far from it. I'm not a religious person, however, I do believe one of the principles most religions are founded on take a "Love thy neighbor." attitude. That doesn't mean "Love thy neighbor only if they are the same color, sexual orientation, gender, and religion as you". Notice the period after it. Love thy neighbor period.

We are better than this. We are capable of more love than can be put into words. I've seen it in action. I know if we work together, we can build a better future. We can create hope. We can love. We can help those who need it. We are capable. All it takes is a little love.

Sincerely,

A Very Concerned Citizen