大象APP

America was never just a place on the map. It was the Declaration of Independence; the Bill of Rights; the Statute of Liberty welcoming 鈥渉uddled masses yearning to breathe free.鈥� It was a place in your heart. It went deep.

I grew up in that America. Back then, the Russians were the enemy of the American Dream. We had no dictator 鈥� they did. We could express ourselves in public 鈥� they couldn鈥檛. We didn鈥檛 live in a police state 鈥� they did. We hid under desks and covered our heads in basement hallways should the Russians drop the big one on us. They were the symbol of everything America wasn鈥檛, and the lines between us were drawn bright blood red.

We鈥檝e come a long, wrong way from declaring that all individuals possess inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A long, wrong way from the Revolution to overthrow a King鈥檚 rule and establish a government centered on democratic principles. And a very long, wrong way from the unity and freedom that was literally woven into the fabric of the American flag.

Now, those rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness have been judicially emasculated. Now the huddled masses yearning to breathe free are the 75 million who did not vote for Trump 鈥� or maybe the 86 million eligible voters who skipped the election. Now, the idea of unity woven into the flag has been weaponized to demolish unity altogether. Now we have a President who acts as if he was anointed king and a government that could care less about democracy. Now there is very little justice, only just us.

But 75 million of you already know this. What about you 77 million? Is it only how much money you think you鈥檒l have that determines your vote? Is it only immigration or sexual identity or gun rights that you hold dear? Where is the humanity that this nation was founded upon? Where did that go, and how did we go so wrong? Accepting horror will only lead to more.

America was founded on the principles of equality and justice, freedom for all. But freedom to many means freedom for me to be free from government, with nary even lip service to equality or justice. Our founding fathers knew what it was like to live under a king. They revolted, and they established a democracy with anti-king principles and freedom like a beacon of hope and light.

You must decide if you want to pass on that true America for future generations, and you must vote that way.

Which side are you on?