number four code 3632 with the speech Patriot [Applause] Pride I was protesting before it was cool at Liberty Elementary School School home of the Patriots when my second grade teacher cut Recess by 10 minutes I staged just sit in When Miss Cornelia the lunch lady gave Jeffrey the past eater extra chicken nuggets because he's a growing boy I held a hunger [Music] strike and got sent to guidance which was ironic because the posters in the guidance office told me that if I don't stand for something I'll fall for anything but according to peers teachers and admin that's not how we show our Patriot pride and as I'm growing up I'm realizing that we have skewed the meaning of patriotism likewise those of us who are critical of the ways America fails to live up to its promise of freedom and equality for all are viewed as troublemakers riers and even anti-American and I'm worried that if we continue to promote this idea that patriotism is to blindly love irrespective of our flaws we are doomed to continue our past and present mistakes whether it be the miscarriages of Justice or the outright bigoted remarks made to protesters America has always painted its critics as its enemies however as Harvard Professor kahil Muhammed contends if we believe we've reached some kind of democratic promised land where we no longer qu question America we lose the very basis of the country so today let's first recognize why we're so blindly in love then understand its harms to us as a country before finally learning how to become critical Patriots Thomas Jefferson founding father and slave owner said descent is the highest form of patriotism but many disagree because as Sean McGrath of the Evening Sun explains we're taught that America can do no wrong that America the Beautiful is in essence America the infallible so many are indifferent when America's flaws are exposed for example since elementary school I was taught that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves but when a History Channel article explained that the Emancipation Proclamation didn't actually free anybody I was immediately dismissive Mr Penny didn't give us a scent my blind love of America's great emancipator kept me from seeing the full truth and since I was an outspoken little Patriot I was always at the end of the line and that's not too far off from how America has historically treated denters Uncle Sam said snitches get stitches American studies Professor Ben rton elaborates that those who point out America's flaws are seen as both unpatriotic and undeserving of being part of the national Community suffragettes arrested civil rights activists terrorized black lives matter protesters oh also Terror terized and Colin Kaepernick is not only characterized as anti-American but bombarded with several derogatory names David hog a survivor of the stowman Douglas school shooting and gun control activists was harassed and bered by United States Representative Marjorie Taylor green we have begun to believe that one cannot be American and criticize America failing to criticize prevents America from progressing making us destined to repeat history especially if we continue glossing over it section 4 part 10 of Texas house build 3979 on History curriculum in public schools mandates Educators to teach that quote slavery and racism were anything other than a failure to live up to America's founding principles attempting to alter ugly truths of History sets us back I don't know 200 years from addressing its lasting impact America refuses to address issues resulting in repeating fatal mistakes we struggle to critize our deteriorating Health Care System yet have the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country we struggle to criticize our response to co 19 yet lead in cases in deaths we struggle to criticize our right to bear arms yet lead in mass shootings with over 246 so far this year and if we keep this up I'm not even sure we'll have a country left you see when we pledge allegiance to an infallible America we choose to ignore our blind spots as well as those most disenfranchised by them Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alo revealed that his justification for overturning the 1973 roie Wade rule was because the Constitution makes no Express reference to a woman's right to an abortion nor is it deeply rooted in America's history and tradition then he's right it isn't but as Jill leore argues in her May 4th article for the New Yorker the fact that women are missing from the Constitution is a problem to remedy not a precedent to honor regardless of where you stand on the issue of abortion we must acknowledge the fact that neither the Constitution nor the 55 white men who pen the words we the people considered women to be people there were no women delegates at the Constitutional Convention no women legislators no women judges no Women Voters and yet this 18th century standard has decided our rights in the 21st century until America IGN knowledges its imperfections those of us who have been historically marginalized will never experience the 14th amendment's promise of equal protection under law so in order to ch second grade eser and combat this blind love of America we must become good critics by first re-educating ourselves with the truth an easy way to do this is using the free app or Chrome extension ground news if you look up an article it will show you the bias of the media company who wrote it then pulls together numerous articles on the same topic giving you percentage of the media bias distribution from there it gives you the user the power to decide where you will get your news from this free app can be the first step we all take to unlearn the half truths we've been given and begin seeing America in an honest lens next let's show our Patriot Pride by holding ourselves accountable when we see a flaw within our country we must speak and act to live up to the standard we set in our constitution to truly become a more perfect union to narrow it down America has three fundamental values Justice equality and freedom Jeff for short we must protect Jeff at all costs the late political activist Doris hadock explains democracy isn't something we have it's something we do it can be as small as donating to disaster relief similar to those who rais funds for Puerto Rico after the US government delayed funding or volunteering but the hundreds of California parents who stepped into filling their school staff shortages ad miss the pandemic whether that means holding a voter registration drive or casting your vote in the 2022 midterm elections We the People breathe life into democracy the late US Representative John Lewis once said speak up speak out get in the way get in good trouble necessary trouble and help redeem the soul of America as a champion of civil rights he loved America served America but more importantly criticized America because he knew what it could be so I'll continue to show true patriot Pride by supporting and criticizing the Great American experiment as we all move forward as one nation under God indivisible with liberty and [Music] justice for all