I am an American. I am a Christian. I am a 19-year-old male. I am white. My life matters.

Let me start off by saying that I respect the Black Lives Matter movement, I really do. I just don't fully understand it. Growing up, I learned to love everyone no matter the color of their skin. I grew up knowing that there are good people in the world and that there are also bad people in the world, but this had no correspondence to race. I grew up in a home that taught me that I should always treat everyone the way I would want to be treated.

The media has such a huge influence on the way people view things today, and the media has abused this power that they have. The media has been a big part in driving the Black Lives Matter movement because of what they choose to show. There have been so many situations that have been blown way out of proportion by the media because they know what the people are going to watch and what they are going to talk about the most. The media knows that they will get a huge response out of people if they report that a policeman shot an African American individual.

Just this week there was a shooting in Dallas, Texas where snipers shot and injured multiple police officers and killed five. One of the shooters told authorities that he did it because of the recent police shootings and that he wanted to kill white people, especially police officers. The fact that someone has so much hate in their heart is sickening.

Police brutality is by no means okay and it definitely needs to end, there is no question about that. But let's not hold every police officer accountable for what few do. Police officers risk their lives every day to make sure we are safe. It's one of the most selfless jobs out there, yet people think that it is necessary to shoot and kill them.

Those police that you just killed? Their lives mattered too, just as much as yours. Violence and murder is not the way to fix injustice. We are all Americans, that is all that should matter. Not the color of your skin. Being black doesn't mean that you are a thug any more than being white means you're a racist.

We are the land of the free, the home of the brave and the greatest country in the world. We can't go the way we are going any longer. It is going to tear our great nation apart. We need to come together as brothers and sisters and love each other like Jesus Christ loves us. Black Lives Matter. White Lives Matter. Brown Lives Matter. Blue Lives Matter. Red Lives Matter. All Lives Matter.