Last week, Cpl. Stephen J. Ballard was shot and killed at a local Wawa, just one state over from my hometown, for simply doing what he swore in oath to do. This is not the first incident where a member of the law enforcement has been killed, and unfortunately, it does not look like it will be the last.

For as long as I remember, I have always been proud to be an American. Unlike other countries, America is run as a democracy, giving its people the right to be heard and make important decisions to ensure our nation runs smoothly. And most importantly, we are a country that is free—s/o to our founding fathers—where we are protected to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, within the last year and a half, maybe even more, I have not been proud of what is happening in my home; I have not been happy with America.

We, as Americans, are granted our rights per the constitution, but do not have full capability to protect ourselves and those rights, so we were gifted someone who can; we were gifted with those in blue yet, for some reason I cannot begin to fathom, citizens of country are killing off our protection, one by one. These men and women go through intense and extensive training, swearing by oath to protect our country and its citizens. They are leaving their families every single day to protect us, and in turn, we are killing them; we are murdering innocent men and women, and for what?

We have reached a point where we believe on person is better than other without any basis behind it. Regardless of the cultural background, race, religion, etc. of an individual, each and every one of us has a voice and is a piece of the puzzle we call America. All of these protests—Blue Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter—while are a right under the constitution, are becoming more violent, doing more harm than good, destroying the message behind it.

There is this stigma that all law enforcement is bad due to the police brutality epidemic that has surfaced. However, just like with anything else, those who are giving those in blue a bad reputation is not the face of law enforcement; they are the black sheep of the family, and we are letting what they do create this stereotype, essentially endangering everyone in our nation, and creating further division

I, myself, am grateful to have those in blue risking themselves and their family’s day after day to protect me, my friends and family, and my president. Growing up in Elkton, MD, I have had the opportunity to meet and grow to close to many men and women in blue because we are a family. When a member of this family—law enforcement or not—falls, we come together as one because we are one.

The more we kill the ones who protect us, the less protection we have, leaving us vulnerable and exposed to those we are being protected from. In this day and age, there are, and will always be bad people in this world whether they wear blue or not. What matters is how we deal with these people, and killing them and those who may like them, is not the answer.

America is a family, and it is about time we start acting like one.

I am going to start and end with standing with blue.