I am sorry

 I am sorry

People of color

I am sorry

LGBTQ+ people

I am sorry

Religious minorities

I am sorry

Women

I am sorry

I am sorry that despite the fact that your country has force-fed you the belief that this is as good as it gets, you’ve never felt wholly at home. I am sorry that “it’s a lot better than it used to be” has ever been used as an excuse or a bandaid for the pain you feel deeply. I am sorry that you’ve watched others be treated with grace while you wait under a microscope. I am sorry your feelings have been invalidated and minimized and shouted over and mansplained. 

I am sorry you have to live in contrast rather than freely. 

Despite the fact that America has given you countless reasons to think otherwise while shouting “under God, indivisible for liberty and justice for all” there are many people who love you regardless of your minority identity. They exist and there are many, and I am so sorry you haven’t met them all. There are good ones and they hurt that you feel alone and have been mistreated. They are not perfect. They don’t know what to say or how to say it. But they are good and they want it to be better.

And, no matter what other Christians may have said to you in your past or in the news, God loves you so much he mourned the loss of His only child so that he could spend eternity with you.