What does it mean to be an American?

I woke up the day of the Dallas police shootings and as I watched the news that question came to mind. However, I don't know if my opinion will matter all that much. Want to know why? I’m a 23-year-old white American woman that was so “privileged” growing up, that anything I say is void because I don’t understand.

And that's right. The truth is I don’t understand. Are you going to blame me for the color that I was born? Is it my fault that I came out of the womb with white colored skin? Because if we all had a choice before we could be born my question is this, "What would you choose?"

Being an American all of a sudden means that we choose a side between supporting law enforcement or being against it. Seriously, is this really a conversation you’re going to have at a dinner table? Are there people sitting down somewhere telling their children that law enforcement should be rallied against? You shouldn't call them the next time you need help then I guess because if you’re rallying against law enforcement, then the law enforcement should be rallying against you.

Let me ask everyone who is against law enforcement a question. Where are the words “f*ck the police” going to show up in any history textbook with your name attached to it? I have the answer for you. None. Nowhere. Not one piece of evidence will be found with your name attached to that quote or that #hashtag that you feel is making such a huge difference. You’re making a change. You’re making a statement. What is that statement?

America is a divided nation.

Grab your guns because we’re at war. With ourselves.

It’s a war where we argue over whether we should tell someone transgender what bathroom they can and cannot use.

It’s a war where we rely on social media and television to give us the "cold hard facts" about what’s actually happening in our communities.

It's a war where we're deciding against voting for our next candidate and would rather "move to Canada."

It’s a war where posting a hashtag will depict if you’re “racist” or not.

It’s a war where we’re fighting the very people who are fighting for us.

I’m begging everyone to think for a second.

In school every thirteen years old learned that America is known as a “melting pot.” Melting pot defined is a place where different peoples, styles, theories, etc., are mixed together. We should be working with each other, not against. What do you think this looks like to other countries around the world? What do you think this looks like to our enemies? While we’re plotting our next battle on each other, who’s to say they’re not planning their next battle on us?

This is not me saying there’s not a problem. There is. The problem is that we’re fighting the wrong battles. What happened to the war on poverty? The war on drugs? Making our communities a safer place? What happened to teaching our children to love each other no matter if they’re black, yellow, white, gay, straight or trans? What happened to supporting our elections to find a candidate who will better our country? What does this war mean for our future America?

So I ask everyone again, what does it mean to be an American? Are you proud?