Dear American Public,

I am not writing to make a comment on the political system nor condemn the nominees nor criticize our democracy. I am not writing to say which candidate is better suited to be president nor am I commenting on the character of either candidate. However, I am here to criticize how we are acting as Americans. We have forgotten how to accept one another as human beings refusing to demonstrate the universal rights of respect and dignity. We have let hate seep into every pore of American society and created that the only ideology is our own. This a dangerous ideology to follow. By following this, you turn your back on the founding principles in which the United States was built upon. What makes us special, we are destroying.

Our country is greatly injured. Hate has scarred our country as our brothers and sisters under democracy have turned against each other. Our ears have closed to the opposing argument and our eyes shut to struggles of fellow man. Our minds have forgotten to love and our hands engage in acts of hate against each other. Our voices are no longer voices of reason, but voices of hate. Our society has become a mob. However, above all, our hearts have forgotten sympathy for fellow men and women.

Our country is unique in that our Constitution protects our freedom to think. The government does not tell the American public what to believe, say, or believe. This encourages free thinking by allowing our own logic and experience to determine our own outlook on life instead of a cookie cutter ideology enforced by the government. Since everyone’s life experiences and outlooks are different, ideologies will vary. We must accept that and open our ears, arms, heart, and mind to each other.

Our country is broken and the only people to blame are ourselves. We have allowed political parties to classify citizens instead of the virtues and vices of each person. No longer are we using character as a measuring stick, but whether if you are a democrat or republican. Republicans are called bigoted, sexist, and an extremist. Democrats are called an elitist and a crook. These slurs simply are not true. Some of the best people I have met are Trump supporters and others Hillary supporters. If we would all just take a moment to find the similarities we share with each other, we would realize that we have more in common than what separates us.

Overall, I am ashamed of how the American public has treated each other. We have forgotten that the people we slander and abuse are members of our society. We have let our own prejudice and ideologies close our minds to opposing views. We have come too far as a society to let hate tear us apart. Do not be a part of the problem that tears our country apart, be a part of the solution, the voice that brings our country together.