My Dear, America

My Dear, America September 28, 2016

My Dear America

My dear, we are here again and not unlike times before. This is hard for me to say. But still, I must tell you how I feel.

You have lost sight of the promises we made to each other. You are doing things you said you never would. And worse than that, you pretend like you don’t. There are some things going on with you, and I know change is hard, but I believe that it is the hard things that make us grow the most.

What we have isn’t healthy, and I only tell you this because I care about you. I care about us. Your worst sides have been exposed, and it is affecting me and everyone else around you. Your lust for power and insatiable greed are feeding off those who cannot protect themselves. I want you to be prepared for your reputation to get some mud on it. You have kept too many secrets and unleashed too many violent binges for everything to carry on as usual.

Like any relationship, both sides should challenge each other to be better. Confrontation is a good thing. It will force us to evaluate and fix the areas that are not handled well. The hardest part will be when those with bad intentions and wrong motives critique and attack you. When this happens, you must choose to believe the best in humanity and do what you can to love them. You must see if there is any truth in what they are saying. Remember, people so often act out from hurt and damaged places. You need to admit to yourself and to others that you are responsible for so much of that hurt. You made vows and broke them. You took oaths and lied. You let innocent lives die in the name of ignorance. My Dear, you must answer for these injustices.

You know how much you mean to me, but it would not be right if I did not try to help you make necessary changes so we can have a better future together. I trust that you will not turn your back on me as I try to help others who do not see things the way we do. I will show them the truth about our history and the scars you have left on me, but not without also showing them the possibility of what we can build together. They will not understand right away, and you have to know that this process will take time. When spectators look at the wealth gap or police brutality, and when the gross reality of the inequality between race and gender shows how deep it goes, people who once sung your praises will call you names and try to tear you down.

Keep your chin up, and do not let it break you. You have been through wars before, and you have finished victorious. I know you are not perfect, but I know that you will fight for those who love you and for those who do not know how to love you. I also believe that you will learn how to love those whom you have promised love to, but never delivered. I will do my best to remind those I am around that we need to help you find your way sometimes. If we can work together, we will be able to come to new answers much faster and without more heartbreak.

My dear America, I am not leaving you no matter what, we will work through this together and most importantly… I love you.


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