Melissa Goodnight

I’ve always been frustrated with the rage spewed at me and others like me who some call “Bleeding-heart Liberals.” They insist people who live and vote and protest like me lack love for our nation.

Meanwhile, white men with flags and AR-15s strapped to their chests, who have no qualms harming people for “love of country” are called “Patriots.” As if a flag on your chest makes you inherently worthy of loving this nation.

If only it were that easy.

I’m here to remind you how erroneous and menacing that rhetoric is. And to tell you that you don’t have to wave a fucking flag to love our country. You don’t even have to stand for the flag to love our country. That’s the beauty of our country.

You don’t have to be a gun-toting, tobacco-spitting, ass wipe to love her. But you can be.

You don’t have to be a first responder, soldier, or politician to love her. There are no prereqs.

You don’t have to be straight to love her or white or Christian or Southern. You don’t have to be male or female, you don’t have to be any gender at all.

You don’t have to live here or even speak English to love the USA.

You don’t have to support any one politician, coalition, or ideology.

Whatever it is you think people like me are doing. Whatever it is you are being told people like me are doing. If it involves the idea that we hate our country, you’re wrong. You’ve been lied to.

And what concerns me more than the fact that you believe it, is the fact that you will fight tooth and nail to protect your “rights” against it. As if your rights are the only ones that matter. Not only does that logic befuddle me, it’s extremely dangerous.

I’ve been mum about a lot of shit lately because honestly I’m just tired, y’all. I don’t watch the news, I don’t try to see the “other side” anymore. I can’t. But I’m not gonna listen to, accept, or let slide this bullshit rhetoric for another second. None of us should.

So if you see us out there standing on street corners holding signs in peaceful protest and you don’t agree or understand it, just drive on by. That’s all you have to do. We know why we’re doing it.

We know that it’s all born of love.

M.