We Are America - John Cena | Love Has No Labels

Those of you who know me are quite aware that I do not get into debates concerning politics or religion.  In fact, one of my earlier blogs is about how my momma taught me that it is not polite to have these conversations outside of the family (and sometimes, not even then).

With all that is happening in our country today based on the upcoming elections, I felt compelled to share this video that I just happened to randomly come across this week.  I can't even claim it as 'research work' for a blog.  There it was.  For those of you into wrestling, you may even be surprised that I had to look up who John Cena was.  Never heard of him, nor have I ever seen him.  So him being the spokesperson for this patriotic short video had nothing to do with me liking, nor disliking this video.  It just spoke to my heart and gave me goosebumps.  It has nothing to do with any political beliefs.

The fact that he defined patriotism as the love for our country and not just pride, actually came from a speech given in San Francisco long ago in June of 1896.  So much of what our forefathers said then is true today and we need to listen and learn.  We need to make a difference.  Love truly has no labels.  We are all human so it's time to embrace diversity and for all of us to rethink any bias that we may have.

Patriotism is thrown around quite frequently, sometimes in a positive way and sometimes not.  Lately, I have seen such harsh words coming from all sides of the political boundaries, and all in the name of patriotism. It is, after all, the people who make up this great country of ours.  So many people tend to forget that groups of minorities are included in this number.  For example, as pointed out in this video, women make up 51% of the people in the U.S.  By the time other groups are added in such as African-American, Latino, Asian, disabled, gay/lesbian, senior citizen (and the list goes on) our minorities make up more than half of this country.  

The big take away point for me was that labels define us and give us the freedom to celebrate our patriotism.  Some of what I am hearing from those around me, whether in person or on social media, is that if you don't agree with me then you are wrong and you must not love America.  Wasn't the United States set up to be a country where we have the freedom to make our own choices and speak our minds from our hearts and what we believe?  Real people make up America and we are called the United States for a reason.  

We need to stay UNITED.  This does not mean that we must agree on one set of standards from any political party.  We have the right to choose.  Some sources that are throwing out incorrect information would have us believe differently.  I, for one, have been trying to find where some of these sources come from and have discovered that many of them are made up and have no substantial evidence to be a fact.  Then on the other hand, some do have truth, yet have been distorted to twist and turn indecisive minds.  

Let's face it.  Most of us do not have the time, nor the energy to check out each fact as to whether it is true, distorted or totally false. Most of us believe what we want to believe and then spread it to others, sort of like the game that is played where a fact is whispered into one person's ear and then they relay this to the next person until it gets to the last person.  This person then states out loud what was whispered to him.  The statement is not what was originally stated.  This is in our human nature.  What I am suggesting, is that we be more tolerant to others who are most definitely proud to be in the United States.  There are other ways (legal ways) to handle those who are here on a different mission.  For now, let's just pull together for the love of our country.  We really do need to stop labeling people and things and just remember that love has no labels.