I am a Christian and I am sad at what the world is becoming. I am sad because the news is flooded with hatred for one another. You cannot turn on your TV, your phone, or your computer without another hate crime or shooting slapping you in the face. And it is not just the actual crime that makes me angry, it is how we as Americans are choosing to respond to these crimes that really angers me, and to be honest, I have had enough of it. When did we decide that it was ok to hate another race? When did we decide that is was ok to hate someone for who they choose to love? When did we decide that it was ok to hate someone for their religious views? When did we decide that it was ok to hate someone for being a human? When did we decide that it was ok to hate someone for living their life in a country that claims to be "the land of the free and the home of the brave"?

I am a Christian and I believe that no one should be seen as lesser than someone else because of the color of their skin or because of their beliefs. I see other people claiming to be Christians in the news and on TV holding up signs that say "God hates fags", "God hates Jews", "God hates you", and "You're going to Hell" and it makes me hurt for them. It makes me hurt because my own religion has seemed to have forgotten that God is love. God created everyone equal and he loves all of us for our differences and most importantly, he taught us to love one another, not to hate each other or to go around and condemn others to hell. Instead of trying to fix the problems of hate crimes and discrimination in America with more hate and discrimination, why don't we show each other love, support, and compassion in times of terror and despair?

I am a Christian and I believe we should love and support our fellow Americans. I believe that we should look past our differences between one another and come together to support the losses and the tragedies that are happening around us. I believe that we should look past our races and support those who were lost in the recent shootings. Whether you are White, Black, Hispanic, Native American, Hawaiian, Asian, Indian, or whatever race you may be, choose to look past your difference and choose to just be there for one another. I believe that we should look past our sexual identification and gender and support those who suffered a loss in the Orlando shooting. Whether you are male, female, straight, gay, transexual, pansexual, or gender fluid, choose to look past your differences and realize that we are all just humans. I believe that we should look past religious views and show our love for one another. I believe we should look past all of our differences and only remember one thing; we are all Americans and we all deserve to be treated equally, regardless of our differences. America was founded on freedom of religion, freedom from persecution, freedom of speech, and freedom to live your life the way that you choose without bringing harm to those around you, and I think that is what we are really forgetting.

At the end of the day, we are all humans and we all deserve to be treated like one. So take a stand and choose to love one another the way that we are supposed to.