Dear Young Liberal,

We are of opposite political parties; we choose different sides on the trending political points, but I still believe that at the heart of the issues, we all want the same thing. We want to live in a country that succeeds, supports its citizens and above all, a country that offers its people a comfortable life.

You speak of love for all, and so do I. Yet our definitions of “all” differ. You speak of allowing gay marriage and I agree. Limiting love should be the last thought that crosses the mind of a government, it is something we should be permitting, promoting. Any kind of love should be embraced; I, a Republican, believe that just as you believe it.

Yet when you speak of love you forget the most important kind of love. You forget that those not in front of our eyes deserve love. You forget that babies, unborn and without a voice, deserve love and protection. You forget this, refuse to believe it, every time you rally for “women’s rights.” Why? Because women can speak, women can stand before your eyes. You can hear their voices, their complaints. But women did not always have a voice in politics and weren’t always heard. Women didn’t always vote. And we, every American alike, look back on the time of the most severe inequality between genders and see that is was wrong.

We haven’t learned from our mistakes. We haven’t recognized that today, abortion is legal because they have gained a voice over those who are never given the opportunity to be born. Babies are squashed by the one person they have to count on, by the person with whom they entrust their heartbeat. Even their fathers have lost any opportunity to save their children by legalizing abortion, by giving women their so-called “rights.” Isn’t a child just as much a product and responsibility of their father as their mother? Why are fathers losing their right to fatherhood in a time that more and more men are becoming stay-at-home dads? Our society has pushed for men to “step up” to fatherhood, but only at the command of the mothers. And that isn’t right. The First Amendment, the right to life, has been cast aside for this other “right.” Why is it legal for a mother to end the unborn child's life, when if she is murdered while pregnant, 29 of the 50 states will consider it a double murder? Killing isn't justified by who commits the murder.

You support Planned Parenthood and tell us we should, too, because abortions are only a fraction of Planned Parenthood's practices. You tell us that we should look the other way because they support women's health and aren't just an abortion clinic. But if I were to support a company that is prejudiced toward LGBTQ, or a minority, I would be considered anti-gay, homophobic, and a racist. Yet on the topic of abortions, I am again the bigot for calling those who support Planned Parenthood killers or abortionists.

You speak of offering a better life to immigrants. And once more, I agree. Almost all of us came here from another country, and somewhere in our ancestry, we have known the yearning for an opportunity, to escape oppression. Our ancestors’ immigration papers are something to cherish, a part of our personal history that has contributed to the history of our country. We send our children to Ellis Island to see the very same steps our great-grandparents took and to find their names engraved into the stone wall in the gardens on Ellis Island.

Over 4.4 million people were on the legal immigration waiting list in 2015, 98 percent of whom were already sponsored by a family member here in the U.S. You rally for legalizing the status of illegal immigrants, justified to avoid breaking up families and sending illegal immigrants back to their country when their children were legally born here. But what about the parents who are still in their native country while their children are here, legally waiting to come to America? What about the children whose fathers or mothers are here working and waiting to bring over the rest of their family? These are the people who want to be a part of America, who come here, wanting to learn our language and our ways because they want to be a part of America and accept us for who we are. These are the people who respect our laws, and if we don’t bring them to our home but continue to allow illegal immigrants to live here and offer them citizenship, we will only be promoting that people disregard our laws. How will that make America the country that we want to live in?

We would be telling all 4.4 million people who are family members of our own citizens that we don’t care that they chose to enter the country legally. Our welcome to them would be obsolete and instead, we’ll be saying “screw you” to the people who respect our country. What kind of message is that to send? What does that say about our culture that we bow down to rule breakers on a national level?

If we permit illegal immigrants to stay, we are disregarding our own ancestors who waited in India, China, Italy, Ireland, Germany, Russia, Nigeria, etc. to come here. We’ll be casting aside every sacrifice our own ancestors made to come here legally and saying that those sacrifices were unnecessary because entering illegally would have the same outcome. We’ll be saying that to our ancestors and to our family members still waiting on the other side of our borders.

We both want the same thing: a country that we can be proud to live in, proud to be a part of and a place where we can act on opportunities and succeed. We both love, but it seems as though our levels of love are different. Love cannot be limited to those with a voice. We both appreciate the fruits that have come from other countries, the people that have become a part of ours and the ability our ancestors had that have brought us here, too. So instead of closing our borders to all because people with visas or green cards get lost in the system, let’s change the system and ensure that our own citizens are doing their jobs to secure our system. Maybe then we can bring more of our family members here permanently. Maybe then we can create a system of immigration where the level of education doesn’t act as a qualification for entering the country. Maybe then, we will create an image of America we can all believe in, and one we will all want to uphold.

Sincerely,

Your female, Millennial and Republican friend