American.

I am American. Please allow me to share with you what that means to me. 

It means that God, in His sovereignty and mercy, made the decision to let a little girl be born to parents who were American. They were American due to their ancestors ability to travel to and settle in America. 

It means that I understand that there were people here long before Christopher Columbus landed. To ignore this fact is the very definition of “white entitlement.” Not only were people already here, but those people were not treated well. While I cannot go back and undo what has been done, I can show compassion to anyone that was mistreated by my ancestors. To refuse to do so simply adds to the definition of white entitlement. 

Being American means I understand that I am free, but not everyone in the world has the same blessing. Being American means that I understand that there is poverty, war, sickness, crime, hunger, and other issues that cannot be ignored just because I’m American. 

I acknowledge that not all of us think alike. We don’t look alike. We don’t act alike. We don’t pray alike. We don’t have to be exactly alike. We do have to be respectful of others if we claim to be part of the United States of America. 

Being American means that I thank God every day that I was born in America.  Still, I willingly understand others weren’t, so they may try to make it here just as soon as they can. 

Immigration should be a well-oiled system that allows and tracks people seeking the American dream. To deny the dream or to demand no system be in place puts a cherry on top of white entitlement. 

I know these things because I am American. To deny anything written here doesn’t make me more American or more white. In my opinion, it makes me a blind, white American.