When I saw the flag as a kid growing up in the US I used to feel excitement and pride. I would think of my grandfather who had fought in the military. I would think of all the other children in different countries who didn't have freedom. As I grew up that eroded away.
My grandfather had to suffer for years with a faulty heart before the government would pitch anything in for its veterans. I realized that the freedoms that I had thought were special. Weren't all that rare. I'd even argue that the more I discovered about how my family and I myself fit in the larger part of… Read more society I lost some of my freedom.
All of this is to say that nowadays when I see that flag and hear that anthem it feels embarrassing. We like to boast that we are "the land of the free..." yet we have people whose right to marry was only granted in 2015. People scream for parental rights but only when it's the decision to ban a book in school. Yet, parents who decide to let their children undergo medical procedures outlined in professional handbooks for their child's health? We ban them. We also overturned the protection for a woman's right to choose what she does with her body. (I'm talking more than just abortion.) We even have bans on feeding the needy!
We like to say we are free. We like to say we are rich. Which on paper is true but in reality there's a lot of work to be done. Work that is so highly politicized that we can't even compromise anymore. There is no "Live and let live" anymore. We don't compromise. (Granted, I do want to add a note that not everything can be compromised. For example, Human rights.) Each side only takes from the other as if they are on separate teams and not two teams working toward the same goal of running a country where its people are free, happy, and taken care of.
We always have to make every law that passes about us individually. When really the answer to the question may be as simple as if you don't agree with it don't do it you have the freedom to choose that. So too should the person you disagree with.
Despite all this, I do not hate this nation. It has glaring flaws but nothing that cannot be fixed by work. I love this nation from the many diverse people that make it to the beautiful land it stands upon. I want it to change to be better for everyone. The fact we have the power to change it is a special part of being an American so while I feel embarrassment now I would like to replace it with a sense of pride. The pride of knowing that we take care of our people, that we are kind, and that we honor and preserve this place for the future. Not just for myself but for anyone who sees it.
