Now, let me start off by saying that no I do not despise America but I will be honest in saying there are a lot of things that could be better. It's 2016. It's time for America to get its shit together.
1. We're not really a free country.
Hold on, don't scroll away yet, hear me out. Americans go on and on about us being the "land of the free" but are we really? We have a higher incarceration rate than CHINA, who has much bigger population than us. Over 60% of these incarcerations are also non-violent. Which yes, does not mean they didn't do anything wrong, but when a dude gets more time for selling pot than a rapist then I have a problem. (Looking at you Brock Turner.) America is not politically free either. Delegates control the primaries, and then the electoral college controls the general election. The elections are controlled by money and that's how we become forced to choose between an overgrown oompa-loompa and that crazy aunt you always avoid at Thanksgiving.
2. Equality
It is still, in 2016, harder to become successful in this country unless you are a wealthy, white, cis, male. That is just the honest truth. White privilege is very much a thing. If you do not see that, then you are a part of the problem. Minorities are way more likely to live in poverty and go to low level education systems. Which lead to low level jobs, with low pay. But they're just supposed to work harder right? In 2012, it was reported that just as many white people were working as every other minority in the country. The minorities just don't tend to get the fancy CEO jobs which explains the income discrepancies. And for the statement about "well minorities should work harder," believe it or not, white people don't do the most work. And that's not even an insult. It's a statistical fact.
3. We are not a peaceful people.
We rank 101st out of 161 countries in peace. We've blown up half of Japan, started two wars in the Middle East, helped weaponize terror groups and have one of the highest homicide rates in the world. We have more mass shooting than pretty much any other country. Our first response to anything seems to be violence. "So many people die annually from gunfire in the US that the death toll between 1968 and 2011 eclipses all wars ever fought by the country." And we still continue to do nothing about it.
Now like I said, America does have some good qualities and great people. But these are things that affect all of us. It is 2016. America is a melting pot. We need to learn to be able to live together, no matter what someone else looks like or who they love. And we should not be letting rapists serve less time than someone smoking a joint, and we should not be letting suspected terrorists buy weaponry so easily. That seems like common sense to me. Think about it.
Happy Fourth.
