I find it odd that we are known as the United States of America, yet our country has been divided for years. In the pledge of allegiance it states “liberty and justice for all,” yet that seems to apply to only certain individuals. Keeping that in mind, the very ground we marked as America is stolen grounds; since when was the United States full of justice for all? As far as I am concerned, the only way to receive it is if you meet the criteria for it the typical standards: white skin, straight hair, blue eyes, and a typical name. Anyone that doesn’t fit that description is viewed as a terrorist, thug, criminal, and so many hurtful names. 

How is there equality, but then we scream Black lives Matter, and you scream all lives matter? Did you mean to say white lives matter, but putting “all” instead of “white” made it sound less racist in your eyes? When we say abolish ICE, you say immigrants are criminals, and drug dealers, but you still go around saying our country is united. 

We have a president who views the KKK as “fine people,” threw tear gas at peaceful protestors, and has said so many distasteful things, and, as Americans, some of you view him as someone to idolize. People walking around with Trump apparel, and putting stickers on their cars, do you know how you look when you do that? When you put up a confederate flag, are you putting it up to take pride in your country, or flaunting your racism and ignorance? Also, did you know the same confederate flag you hang in your dorm room also hung in front of the houses of slave traders and slave owners for years?

Coming from the eyes of an African American woman, it looks like you are either extremely uneducated or so stuck in your ways that you don’t care how this country treats other people because it doesn’t affect you. Regardless of your reasoning, it is still sad and disgusting. This country should be ashamed of itself. We pretend that we are this strong, connected country, but it is all just one big lie. 

Black people are killed because of the color of their skin. Hispanics are told to “go back to Mexico” even though that’s not where all Hispanic people originated from. People are calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus” and assuming, just because you are Asian, you have it, which sounds idiotic in itself. People who are not of color are stealing other people’s culture and being praised for it, while the people who originated it get backlash for it. Does this sound like a united country to you?