Dear America...

I have always been so incredibly proud to be an American, where at least, I knew I was free.

But something has happened to my beloved country.

A sickness has fallen over us.

An apathy.

A greed.

An attitude that I cannot understand.

We no longer seem to care about our neighbors, about the misfortunes of those around us. We no longer seem to mind that terrible things are happening, because at least it isn’t happening to us. Those of us who already have enough money, that is. Those of us who already have health insurance, who already are citizens, who already have our college diploma.

We seem to have forgotten what it was like to be at the start, instead of the finish line… What it feels like to be at the bottom of the well, looking up; instead of at the top looking down, fetching the clean water.

I fear for my country.

For we are no longer free.

We are confined, by the consumption that clouds our minds and prevents us from thinking farther than our next paycheck. We are targeted by advertisements that are custom-tailored just for us based on our browsing history. We are blocked by the lobbyists that are funneling billions of dollars towards the constant pressure to keep “business going as usual,” while our neighbors cry out to us for help.

Can we truly not hear them?

Our children are slaughtering each other with firearms, we are deporting the very people who helped to build this beautiful country, we are denying basic human rights like medicine, clean water, and post-natural disaster aid to our very own citizens.

Citizens who are screaming for aid. For change. For support.

Can we truly not see them?

Are we that blind to the suffering of our own people?

Or do we just not care…? Because at least it’s not happening to us.

I used to think of America as a Big Brother. Reassuring, supportive, looking out for those in need. Now, I’m starting to feel like America is a bully. Greedy, selfish, unconcerned about the pain that it is causing to others; unconcerned about the pain that it is feeling itself.

No different than the child in middle school who used to shove kids into lockers.

I’m scared for my countrymen.

America is full of wonderful people.

People I know, people who are good, kind, and who have so much love to give. But people who are being distracted by the white noise that both the media and our multibillion-dollar corporations are profiting off of…

I’m scared for our citizens.

Our citizens who are desperate for help, who yearn for change, who are clawing to escape the bottom of the well.

I used to know in my heart that any American who saw someone in need wouldn’t hesitate to step in, to help, to stand up for what was right.

So why aren’t we?

Why aren’t we helping Puerto Rico? Why aren’t we conserving our National Parks? Why aren’t we supporting those who have been ravaged by Fracking companies? Why aren’t we reforming firearm laws? Why aren’t we supporting our women? Why aren’t we standing up for the Dreamers who have been chasing the same dream we all have; to be free.

My friends, My fellow Americans, we are no longer free.

We have elected to have the biggest bully of all to be our president. People are suffering. Families are being ripped apart. Parents are burying their children.

This is not what makes America great.

The American community is what makes America great!

Bringing people together from all corners of the world and giving them a place to call home, is what makes America great!

The ability to reform our laws for the better is what makes America great!

The chance for someone who comes from a struggling home to get an education, and make a successful life for themselves is what makes America great.

Not walls.

Not deportation.

Not this.

And from the bottom of my heart, I know we can do better.