I pledge of allegiance

I pledge of allegiance
to the flag
of the united states of America
and to the republic
for which it stands
one nation
under god
indivisible
with liberty and justice for all

read that again.
“with liberty and justice for all”
but where’s that liberty for Axel
who just wants to love who he wants to love
or for Phoenix who just wants to express themselves freely without getting hate crimed for it
or for Amanda who isn’t in the right mental or physical state to carry a baby but can’t afford to travel across the country to get an abortion
or for 11-year-old Rachael who was raped by her uncle and whose little body now has to carry that monster’s baby
or for Tanya who was told that her baby could end up killing her if she goes through with giving birth

where is the justice for Mary
who just lost her child in one of the many mass shootings that have occurred this year
or for people of color who lose their lives every day to corrupt police officers
or for Felix whose family has been searching for him for months when he was seen last in the hands of, you guessed it, police officers
or for queer people who lose their lives to hatred every day when all they want to be is themselves
or for the people of color who get hate crimed and murdered because of something they cannot change

if America is a free country, it should be a free country for all
all races, religions, sexualities, genders
not just cisgender heterosexual white men
who think they have the right to control everyone
why are we repeating history?
why are we going back in time?
what’s next?
are we going to revert to slavery?

why do I have to live in a country
where I can’t love who I want to love
where I can’t express myself the way I want to
where I can’t be a person of color in America without worrying daily about if I’m going to live to see another day
where I have to watch my loved ones die because guns have more rights than we do

every day in America
it becomes so much clearer
that they don’t care about us and our rights as people
they care about power
they care about control
and they’ll do anything to get it