I am PROUD to be an American, though there are some things that make me go really? We live in a country that is free. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of choices…not everyone is going to agree. True freedom means you have to allow your neighbor to say I hate you and all you stand for and not feel the need to censor him. True freedom means accepting others rights to be different while they accept yours.

I do not understand HATE. If I feel that passionately about someone then they had to be someone I cared about. They are someone who hurt me or mine and the pain is so great I have to hate them. I know of no person I hate. I don’t hate someone because of the color of their skin, their religion or their life choices. I hate war, I hate poverty, I hate that there are children starving and dying…but I don’t hate Muslims, I don’t hate poor people and I don’t hate children. I could hate ISIS. For as an entity they are a group of angry people who want to destroy others because they do not agree with their choices.

Thank God we are a nation built on freedom. A nation where the KKK can march on one street and the Black Panthers on another. A nation where I can attend a Mosque or a church or neither. I can have an opinion of our president, abortion and what’s playing at the movies and not end up in prison for it. But I also have to respect your right to have a different opinion.

True Freedom…

It comes at a high cost.

I am PROUD to be an American. I love being from the South! Both have blemishes, we are a group of humans and humans fail, make mistakes, allow themselves to be led by their own agendas. The history of this nation, just like the history of every nation is filled with proud moments and not so proud moments. We have had great leaders who have made terrible mistakes, choices and decisions but they were still great. Yet too often, we allow one failure to cloud the good someone has done. None of us should be remembered by our worst mistake. Being from the south I know there is much in our past that is not good but there is so much in our future that promises to be amazing.

The flag, the cross and even the rainbow can be perverted into something of hate, anger and prejudice if we allow it. But as we celebrate Independence Day let us put aside these things and remember what July 4^th is truly about: INDEPENDENCE! We have the freedom to be unique!

I am proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free! I thank those who are out there securing that freedom and for those at home struggling to with hate, prejudices and anger…may we all know the joy of freedom’s reign!

Happy Fourth of July!