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I love American, and...

 I love America. I stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance and I wish we sang the Star Spangled Banner more as a crowd then watching someone else perform it. I vote in elections, I don't mind paying my taxes because I know it helps our nation, our communities, and the world, and I volunteer and give to community groups and a wide variety of non-profits. I am proud to be a citizen of the United States of America.

I love America, and I don't think we are perfect and I do think that we, as a nation and our leaders, have made mistakes, have made bad decisions, and some of those decisions, that benefit the few over the many, are still in effect.

I love America, and I think we are getting better at becoming a nation where "All people (men) are created equal", but we still have a long way to go.

I love America, and I believe that we need to know and tell the full truth of the history of our nation, but not just the good stuff and the victories. We need to know about slavery, Jim Crow laws, segregation, lynchings, redlining, and the continuing unequal justice system. We need to know about women's rights, suffrage, and sexism. We need to know about our conquering and treatment of the Native (First) Nations, how we have broken every treaty made with them, and how we continue to harm their nations, communities, and families. We need to know about how we have stereotyped, discriminated against, and even demonized immigrants who have come to these shores and in this nation in good faith that continues today. We need to know about how we have persecuted, prosecuted, and dismissed the humanity and rights of LGBTQ citizens and how we still do today. We need to know the other stories that our nation, elected officials, and citizens have not done what is right with other minorities, peoples, and groups.

I love America, and I believe that we are doing better, getting it right in many ways, and we can do better still. I don't think we have to be the greatest nation in history or be labeled the worst. We have done good, we have made mistakes, we have done bad, and we have the capacity to create that more perfect union. We have to look where we have done wrong and take actions to rectify the wrongs and lift up those who were left behind or out of the American dream.

I love America, but I don't like when our current officials and fellow citizens try to hide or dismiss (white wash) our whole history. It angers and saddens me when we, as a nation, continue to deny all citizens equality in the eyes of the law and the respect they deserve, not just as citizens of our nation, but as human beings and children of God (which we all are). It angers and saddens me when we believe and act as though justice is reserved for some of our citizens, not all of our citizens.

I love America, and as I confess that I am not perfect and need to do better, so do we, as a nation, need to confess that we are not perfect and need to do better.

Then we need to do it.

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