United We Stand: Moving Forward Together

The country is in pain. Riots are burning business. Americans are fist-fighting in the streets over their political differences. Sensing the shifting tides, police officers are retiring in record numbers. All of this has been inflamed by a global pandemic that has changed our lives, it is easy to be worried. We all have seen the news. However, we must remember the resolve that guided us through the uncertain days following September 11th, 2001. When this country was the most united I've ever seen it in my lifetime. This is the same resolve our grandparent showed after Pearl Harbor. The same resolve their parents showed as we wadded into world war one. I had hopped to see this when coronavirus hit, but people have just become more divided.Although America is no stranger to uncertain times, we are not acting like it. Things were rocky even in the first few decades. Francis Scott Key demonstrated this in 1814. He needed the light given off by rockets and bombs to prove that his flag still waived. We all have a heritage of resiliency. My parents were not born and raised here in the continental United States of America, but I was. Thus, that legacy belongs to me now. The proud forebearers of this country united this land. Brave patriots fought for civil liberties, and as well as civil rights. Always striving to make it better. This country is not perfect, but not a single person will take away my love for my home. We have accomplished miracles, and the seemingly impossible.

America leads the word in many categories:

• Gross domestic product
• Number of Olympic medals
• Number of Nobel Prizes
• Most humanitarian aid, both federal and private
• Number of Guinness World Records
• Most foreign born residents and immigrants
• Most powerful military to ever exist
• Only country with 5 different climate zones
• Center of music, movies, and TV industry
• Center of invention, and innovation, including airplanes, computers, cellphones
• Highest percentage of adults who choose to move, and live where they choose
• Most connected to the internet 96% connectivity vs global average of 54%
• Most international college students
• 8/10 largest companies in the world are American
• We've been to the moon

These feats do not take away from the problems we have, but they are so many things to be proud of. It is OK to love your country. Despite what people online say. In fact, you can love it so much you want to safeguard it, and make changes for the better. We can do this together, we need to do this together. Community is more important than we realize. The values we hold have grown and matured over the last 244 years. Now, the most American thing we can do is set aside our differences, and respect each other. We will show our American Grit. Because this is America, and United We Stand.