Katherine Smith

I Am an American

My name is Katherine. I am an American. Wearing the badge of “American” on my lapel comes with a long list of freedoms and rights that have been fought for and that many have made the ultimate sacrifice so that I may have them. I do not take lightly the freedoms I have been born into, nor do I wish for any American to be denied or stripped of these rights. I celebrate our diversity and our ever-changing culture in America. Our freedoms are detailed in our Constitution, a collection of amendments that Thurgood Marshall referred to as “a living document” in his 1987 lecture. Just as our people and cultures evolve over time so must the freedoms that protect them. Without amendments to the US Constitution, our country would still practice slavery and consider men the “head of household,” preventing women from voting in elections. I hold the right to vote and the women who fought valiantly for me to have that right very close to my heart, but I have found that my elected representatives are now being purchased by NRA money, not by my vote. Recently I have found that adults, teenagers, and children are being killed more frequently and more violently than ever before. I do not blame the gun. I do not blame the NRA. I do not blame my elected representative. Now, once I begin to see a pattern in the weaponry used, I start to question the gun. Once I begin to read statements purely in defense of the weapon used and not a word in regards to the murders a particular gun caused, I start to question the NRA. Once I begin to see that certain legislation is not being brought forward and that action is not being taken because of large donations from the NRA to campaign funds, I start to question my elected representative.