I wise man once said, “No government is perfect. One of the chief virtues of a democracy, however, is that its defects are always visible and under democratic processes can be pointed out and corrected.” This man was no other than President Harry S. Truman. Truman’s last time in office was in 1953, yet his words never became dated. Democracy is the only form of government that allows us, citizens, to participate, contribute, and if need be, change the world around us. The United States is a nation of change, but the beautiful thing behind the change in this country is that it is made possible by the people for the people.

The United States has had its dark moments such as slavery, war, and economic downfall, yet we are still here because of our democratic government. All of these issues were resolved with the tenacity and willpower from both our citizens, our leaders, and most importantly our democracy.

We, as Americans, should take a step back and truly marvel at the form of government that we have here. As a democracy, we have the capability of voting for our leaders along with following a capitalistic economic lifestyle. Of course, our democracy is not perfect, but it is certainly better than other governments around the world. Take, for example, Venezuela, a country that is run by a government based on Socialism, where mothers are waiting on mile-long lines to feed their starving children, where the sick are left dying on the crime-ridden streets, where there is no freedom.

Fortunately, we live in a nation where the starving are fed and the sick are taken care of and we should thank those that make it possible, our veterans. During World War II, our nation was going through a horrendous draft that forced boys to turn into men and witness the horrors of war in order to preserve the freedom and liberty that we all enjoy today. Young men were taken from their homes, families, lovers, friends, and pets just to perpetuate what they found was worth fighting for. Our veterans have fought and spilled blood on foreign soil. Our veterans, the people who had to repress a part of them that meant being human and never show emotion when on their mission or when they lost a friend in combat.

When these brave and selfless individuals were first drafted, they did not think of running away from their duties as Americans. Our veterans fought for our freedom and I am sad to say that we have taken advantage of it.
With the past election stirring much controversy through our society, we Americans were sucked into it and had become divided. Everybody had to be labeled, conservative, liberal, Republican, Democrat or to had been an advocate for Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, LGBTQ rights, feminism, but yet nobody claims to be an American anymore.

Due to the recent inauguration of Donald J. Trump as president, a major backlash has swarmed the country. Every Trump-supporter was deemed the heinous term, Nazi, and voters who did not support Trump would flee the country since they did not like who was in office. This is absolutely disgusting and shameful to those who loved and fought for this country. Our veterans did not run the opposite direction when war called for them; they did not threaten to move to Canada simply because life was not working in their favor.

Modern America needs to realize that we are a free nation that allows the freedom of choice and speech. Let us not take that for granted. Let us not become divided because we do not agree or like each other’s opinions. Let us not turn down democracy.

As said by President Abraham Lincoln, I leave off on the note that, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”