Empty Words

“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This is what is stated in the Constitution that every human being deserves — and yet not all of them have obtained it. There could be many reasons for this, though I believe it’s due to the fraudulent idea that America is the country of wonders. The truth is that we still have, and always will have, the same struggles we had back then — only now it is masked by a false sense of security in our ‘freedom.’ 

If I were to be asked my standpoint, I would give the answer that we must acknowledge this problem for it to change. A country of liberty where not everyone is free is not and never will be a country of liberty — simply of fraud. A country of life where you must hide the most important parts of yourself will never be a country of life — just one of silence. A country founded in the pursuit of happiness where not everyone is free to be happy in their own identity is not a country founded in the pursuit of happiness — but of the quiet of depression.

A country that is built upon a phrase that holds no meaning and is just empty repetition was never a country, but a prison in the shape of one. Americans today are stuck in land that once did belong to them, though now is fire under their feet. It is a place where, if you do not hide who you are, your very right to life is threatened. It is a place where you must conform to fit those around you and are demonized for standing out, standing up.

But we must stand up.

We must be the change we want to see in our country. We must stand for what is being withheld for us, which just happens to be life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — the very things that the Constitution has promised to us. If we so wish it, then we can get it — even if it does take time, and effort, and the little freedom we are already stuck with.

We must stand out. We must be the difference. We must win our rights back, because as I see it now, our country is corrupt with power that we could fix — that we need to fix. 

As I see it now, there is still a chance of gaining these freedoms, but not if we continue to lay low and cower back when the people who fit the norms attack us. The first step to change is difference. We must become the difference, we must encourage others to be the difference. One person will not change the mess, but a unified effort, however small, can be the first step.

They will push, but we will push back. We may fall, but we will always fall into one another, because this is what it means to be free. To live with no restrictions, no matter how you may identify, is to reach the goal that we, Americans, have always been fighting towards.

I can give no answer if our fight will ever end, but we cannot count our losses without first acknowledging our wins. And when we look at history, we have so many more wins. We cannot count our losses without first seeing how much we have won and gained from those wins, which makes all the difference. 

Count our losses, but never forget they lead up to the victories. Losing one battle will never mean losing the war.