My entire life I have always been proud to be an American. Nothing sends chills down my spine like hearing the entire TD Garden sing the National Anthem after the Boston Marathon Bombing. There have been so many events within the past few years that have restored my faith in America, time and time again, where I breathe a sigh of relief and thank god I was born in the land of the free. Even through this most recent election, I hoped for positive change. However, within the past few days, in light of his most recent executive order, I can confidently say that our president has let me down and millions of other Americans along with it.

I absolutely hate getting into politics. The two party system that America uses has the power to destroy friendships, start wars, and cause people to lose their minds. Might I add that our very first president George Washington--who is rolling over in his grave right now--advised us against the very system that we use today. I find myself to be very moderate in terms of politics--as an independent I can see both sides...however as of lately, I lean far towards the left. That being said, I have no problem what side you're on or what party you voted for. I do have a problem with people who do not believe in the basic rights of man and the fundamental principles the United States of America was founded on.

On Friday, January 27th, Trump signed an executive order that banned immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries (Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen) and suspends admission of refugees for 120 days, and also completely banned Syrian refugee admission.

This is a HUGE problem for America, for obvious reasons. The United States the land of the free, the land of democracy, the land that ACCEPTS all. Every single person I know has grandparents, or great-grandparents or ancestors that did not originate from America. This is a nation based on immigrants, and mostly immigrants fleeing some type of persecution or disaster in their own country. A fundamental human right is freedom of religion. Through this executive order, America is sending the message to the world that we do not tolerate those who follow the Muslim faith.

Now the intent of this executive order was to prevent radical islamic terrorists out of the U.S. The only problem with that fact is that the men who carried out the 9/11 attacks are of the nationalities of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Egypt--none of which are part of this ban. The executive order is only preventing people in search of refuge a safe home. And that does not represent the United States.

Naturally, I watched America respond with outrage, protesting at airports, writing letters to congressmen, donating money to the International Rescue Committee (Click here to donate). And through these actions, I am proud to be American. The United States represents people who have basic human rights and protest that all individuals have those rights as well. I hope that this #muslimban will soon be a thing of the past, but for now, it's important to do the right research, speak up, and help when help is needed.

Sources:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jasonwells/protests-again...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/29/everyth...

https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/01/t...

https://www.rescue.org