Dear America,

Everything I have, Everyone I know, Everything I am, I owe in part to you.

I’ve called you my home ever sense I was a child, and even though children don’t know much, I’ve always known I lived in the greatest country in the world. Growing up I didn’t have the wits to figure out that when I took a bite of Gushers fruit chews my head wouldn’t really turn into a watermelon, or to know that attempting to stomach a spoonful of canned spinach wouldn’t grant me Popeye like super strength, but regardless of my lack of common sense, I’ve always had a general impression of what was right, what was wrong, and what was fair.

My parents taught me these concepts from a young age, providing me with lessons in fairness by constantly displaying the value in characteristics such as respect, responsibility, and empathy. I knew that all of the wonderful things in my family’s procession came into our lives as a direct result of my parent’s hard work, and that taught me respect. I knew that my mother and father took advantage of every opportunity they could along the way to provide a better life for my sister and I, and that taught me responsibility. My parents chose to raise me in a town which prides itself on its diversity; as a result, my childhood friends stemmed from all walks of life, and learning from their perspectives taught me empathy. While it was my parents who so lovingly insisted I learn these lessons, I saw their parental decisions as a reflection of the environment around me. Growing up I always knew I lived in the greatest country in the world because from a young age I also knew that I lived in the fairest country in the world. My country, seen as a reflection of the people around me, taught me that in America the quality of a man is judged by the responsibility he takes for his own actions, the ethic in which he confronts his life’s work with, and never by the color of his skin or the country he came from. This is the idea of America in which I owe a part of everything I know too; this is the idea of America that I fell in love with.

A country, without considering its government, is nothing less and nothing more than a reflection of its people. When I was a boy you seemed no larger than the walls which supported my home, and the people which populated you served as perfect examples of patriotic citizens. As I grew older my world began to expand outside the walls of my home and so did my understanding of what it meant to be an American, but even still, within the borders of my hometown, my campus, and the city of Chicago I knew that I am, for the most part, surrounded by like minded people; people who have fallen in love with the same idea of America that I have. While it would be nice to exist only within this realm of similar people, I believe that with age and maturity come a conception of where we are and how we fit in the world, and in order to achieve this realization it’s crucial to know which world you’re living in. Sure, I would sometimes like to imagine my community as merely the town I grew up in, the campus I’m educated on, and the city I live in, but I it would be a disservice to the America I grew up in to ignore certain ideological trends flaring up outside of my own political bubble.

I love you America; I always have, but you’re changing. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting all of your beautiful people or even traveled across all fifty of your beautiful states, but if the men who govern us say anything about the people who elected them, then I fear the American spirit may not be as beautiful as I once thought. Of course, I am talking about the election and now Presidency of Donald Trump.

I love you America, but I hate the way he treats you. Putting rhetoric aside, because I suppose no one seems to care about the language our president uses to objectify women, demonize Muslims, mock the disabled, vilify Mexicans, and dehumanize refugees; I hate the way he controls you. It’s only been a month sense the peaceful transition of power took place between President Obama and President Trump, but in that short time he’s already managed to change you so much. It’s not that he doesn’t listen, even though he refused to listen to hundreds of protesters putting their lives on the line to block the advancement of the Dakota Access Pipeline. It’s not that he lies to your face and attempts to delegitimize the media sources in place to keep him in check, even though he seems completely comfortable stumbling through press conferences lying at a rate more frequent than any other President in recent history while simply refusing to answer questions demanding clarity amongst his veil of dishonesty. It’s not even that in the time he’s been in office he’s already began revolutionizing the way you’re seen around the world, managing to find ways to piss off both Australia and Sweden. (Seriously, who the tf pisses off Australia and Sweden?!) No, I think the core of the problem here is that President Trump simply does not love you.

“Love is patient, love is kind.It does not envy, it does not boast,It is not proud. It does not dishonor others,it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,It keeps no record of wrongs.Love does not delight in evilbut rejoices with the truth.It always protects, always trusts,always hopes, always perseveres.Love never fails.” - Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV) President Trump is not patient, nor is he kind. President Trump has envy in his heart, and he boasts at every opportunity he can. President Trump not only keeps track of the Americans who wrong him, but he often fires back waging social media warfare with his political peers, “Fake News”, and Saturday Night Live. Blind faith in the love this man offers will fail.

America, even if you may not agree with all of my points, please at least listen to this advice from a man who has loved you for as long as he can remember. Although we may be stuck in a four year relationship with a man who does not love us as he should, please do not allow yourself to become seduced by promises of prosperity without reading the fine print requiring you to sacrifice your integrity. I grew up loving the America which respected everyone, was responsible for its actions, and empathized with people from all corners of the world. Please do not sacrifice these virtues for a man who does not love you.