I love America.

As a military child raised on Air Force bases across the country, national pride in runs in my veins.

My heart swelled and eyes filled with tears each time I placed my hand over my heart during the national anthem — which was sung before every movie I watched in the theater as a kid. I loved listening to the colors played over loud speakers each day. I revered every person in uniform.

Patriotism was my lifestyle — and I loved it.

When the fourth of July came each year, I watched in awe as each firework burst in the sky, its boom ricocheting off the landscape. The sound reminded me of the wars that were fought in order to bring peace, and freedom, to our beautiful land.

Later, in college, I remember watching with shock and horror as people lept from the burning towers. It looks like a war zone, I wrote in my journal that day. And it did. Devastation. Shock. Horror.

And yet a sacred pride enveloped me when we united as Americans in the aftermath.

Pride in our country was sacred … to the point of being untouchable, as sacred things often are.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Declaration of Independence

So when the fireworks began their annual raucous, I expected my pride, my heart, my tears to swell. For the familiar and deeply abiding pride in my country and in all those who have gone before and beside, protecting our country, to fill all my senses. To be overwhelmed by how good and deserving and right our country is.

But as the fireworks began shooting off, my mind wandered to the children held in detention centers across our border.

I wondered how these kids might feel as they heard the fireworks go off around them? This is the land, the freedom, we celebrate?

“Let freedom ring …”

Abby Anderson

They are too young to know that our country was founded on the very principle that ” We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness …”

The are self-evident. These rights do not need to be proven in a court of law, or by any man-made argument. We do not, nor should we have to, post photos of dying children in order to prove their humanity — their right to live. We do not have to prove how helpless they are, or how dire their circumstances are. As a country, we have taken a moral stance — all humanity, all of it, is created equal with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

They are endowed by their Creator. How many of us Americans believe we deserve liberty because we are Americans — completely ignoring the fact that most of us are Americans because we were born here. Our privilege runs deep in our veins and poisons our thinking. To believe we are in some way morally superior to any other ethnicity, to believe that our children deserve more than other people’s children. How easily it could have been us. But life and liberty are not privileges to be doled out. Their are rights. Inalienable rights.

Inalienable. I cannot help but think of the irony. That we look at everyone else coming across the border as an illegal “alien” — while we hold to this truth as inalienable. As in there is not “us” versus “them” when it comes to these rights.

“Having rights that are inalienable does not mean they cannot be attacked by our being arbitrarily killed, imprisoned, or otherwise oppressed. It means that such acts are not morally justified and that we have a ground for moral complaint” (Center for Civic Education).

“That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.“

Thomas Jefferson in the Virginia Declaration

The pursuit of life. What I have found so interesting in all of the media and posts about our current border crisis is the constant use of the terms “immigrant” or “migrant.”

It is is as though by using these terms, we are saying that every person who comes to the border is doing something wrong, and that they all have the same motive.

We often think of immigrants as people who are pursuing a better “quality” of life. As in, “I don’t have the resources or opportunities in my country of origin, therefore I will move to a country where I will be able to better provide for myself and my children.”

But when it comes to those coming to our country, there are actually three legal terms, and they each have different legal processes and ramifications: Immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. (Read about the differences of each of these here.)

” An asylum seeker is someone who is also seeking international protection from dangers in his or her home country, but whose claim for refugee status hasn’t been determined legally. Asylum seekers must apply for protection in the country of destination—meaning they must arrive at or cross a border in order to apply…. Tens of thousands of children and families from Central America have fled extreme danger—murder, kidnapping, violence against women and forced recruitment by gangs. Those arriving at the U.S. border are being depicted as ‘illegal immigrants,’ but in reality, crossing an international border for asylum is not illegal and an asylum seeker’s case must be heard, according to U.S. and international law. “

International Rescue Committee

We as educated Americans have failed to educate ourselves on the most basic of principles when it comes to the crisis at the border. We presume that every person who walks across our border, children in hands and arms, are here illegally, and are a problem to dispose of.

But the truth is that the majority are crossing the border IN accordance with our law. And our lack of oversight and proper management of the border should not ever come down to families and putting children at risk.

For these families, it takes risking their children’s lives by coming to the border in order to save their children’s lives. And for those who simply cannot wait at the border often try to come illegally only because of the most dire of circumstances.

They are sitting ducks for sex traffickers. Rapists. Murderers. Fleeing makes sense.

So yes, pride in my country runs deep. I am ever grateful for the sacrifices of so many, including my own family members, who have helped create and protect this land that offers abundant freedom.

But let’s be clear. This country is about protecting the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is not about assigning the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to whoever we feel deserving.

Those rights are God-given. Not America-given.

To the children and their families who have come to America, desperate, hurting, and clinging to the belief that your inalienable rights will be recognized here … I can only say how deeply ashamed I am at the “welcome” you received. That you were treated as criminals for seeking asylum according to our own laws.

I feel deep regret that so many of my fellow countrymen and politicians, those who pledge allegiance to a flag that promises liberty and justice for all, would not only turn their backs to you at this time — but also inflict deep and lasting trauma that will haunt you and your children for generations to come.

I am so very proud of my country. Except for this. And it is because I have reason to be so very proud of our values that I feel nothing but shame in our actions.

Tonight as the fireworks fill the sky, my heart will be fixed on a singular cry ….

Let freedom ring.

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