American Creed Op-Ed

Did you know that racism has been a problem for almost 400 years? That’s 400 years too many. Some Americans treat others poorly because of their ethnicity, race, culture, ancestors, and more. That type of behavior coming from an American citizen should never happen, but yet it still does. To be an American citizen means to respect all others no matter where anyone came from or what they look like, and to believe in the American dream of freedom, equality, and peace.

Every American citizen deserves to be treated equally, no matter what they look like or where they came from. Condoleezza Rice quotes, “The one thing that always attracted people to the United States of America was this idea that it didn’t matter where you came from, it mattered where you were going. You could come from humbled circumstances, you could do great things”. This is one thing that makes America the amazing place it is, but if people continued their racist and sexist acts, America would soon seem like not that great of a place. People should be, as most are, glad because the United States of America might not have ever existed if it were not for the original Americans strongly believed in the American dream. All citizens of the United States of America should be treated equally and under no circumstances is this false.

America is built on respect, which is why the acts of hate and war against certain people are a bit concerning. We are all in it together no matter what, so it makes life for most people easier when a little respect is shown. Tegan Griffith, a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, says, “I could go on a road trip around America and I’d have a place to stay in every state because of being in the military. I love that sense of community no matter what”. The fact that Griffith will be offered a place to stay almost anywhere in the United States really shows that most citizens do indeed have a sense of respect. This bit of respect is an aspect of the American dream, and without it America would most likely not be the same.

Some people might think that because a specific person was not originally from America or do not have American origin, they should not be an American citizen. Some people think that they did not have ancestry that fought for America therefore they are not a real American. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “all men are created equal”, so it would be against the beliefs of our founding fathers to not let people of different origins become American citizens. If a person of a different race has done nothing wrong towards the United States and would want to become a citizen, it would be wrong not to let them just because their ancestry is different than ours, and they could have the potential to become a successful American citizen as well. Others may think that a person’s ancestry or origin should limit their chance for citizenship, but that would be against the beliefs of our founding fathers’.

Racism has been a problem for more than 400 years. A person’s race should not limit their abilities compared to others in any way. The American dream is that every U.S. citizen has an equal opportunity to succeed, but some people of different culture, ethnicity, or origin, do not get a part in this and are disrespected by other citizens. An American citizen should respect all others despite their different origin or ancestry, and believe in the American dream set up by our founding fathers. Racism in the United States will either end forever, or start a Civil War in the future so we should act fast and get this problem solved.