A Mountain of Contradictions

How can a place be called land of the free when it was  built on the oppression and enslavement of others? How can the Declaration of Independence declare that “all men are created equal” but continue to exclude a whole race? How can a country call itself  “the land of opportunity” but when people come seeking a better life, they are only met with barriers?

The United States was built on contradictions and broken promises. African Americans were treated as property, Indigenous communities were colonized and forced out of their ancestral land, women were denied political rights, and immigrants searching to better their lives are now consistently reminded that they “don’t belong here.” While this nation’s history is filled with great progress, we still have a way to go. A true nation is not one that pretends that its history was perfect, but one that learns from it.