Hope for America

America is a country of hope, a country of new beginnings, a country of faith. That has never changed throughout all the wonderful presidents, all the horrible presidents, and all the weak and mediocre presidents. Our identity as a nation has never changed, our spirit and our core values remain unaltered. President Andrew Jackson sent Native Americans on the Trail of Tears and killed them off on reservations, but our identity as bringers of justice and equality did not change. President Abraham Lincoln freed African Americans from slavery, and our identity of fairness and strength was not altered. President Fillmore’s name is not remembered, but his presidency did not change our perception of America. This land of plenty, this American Dream, this ideology and hope for a fair world has not changed a bit since George Washington’s inauguration. If anything, it has grown to include people the Founding Fathers did not even think about. Disabled people, women, LGBT people, people of color, so many people have made their own place in our society and they are only growing stronger. Our country is great, and no president will ever change that. Do not lose hope, do not condemn America, do not give up and say America is not great. Our country has triumphed over great hardships and made the greatest of days even better. I will place my faith and my hope in my homeland and my people. I choose to believe in these people who grew up on the American ideals, who grew up breathing American spirit, and who wave the Stars and Stripes with the pride of centuries of hard work. I choose to believe in the American Dream preached by the Founding Fathers and carried through the centuries by Martin Luther King Jr, Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Harvey Milk, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B Anthony, Howard Zinn, Barack Obama, and thousands of unnamed Americans who held their heads high and believed in their fundamental right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I choose to believe in my county. I choose to believe in my people. I choose to believe in the future. I choose to believe in hope.