I am an American, I am not the Enemy.

This morning I woke up and was flashed back to when I was deployed in Afghanistan and there was an "incident." Dread and anxiousness as I quickly attempted to see if everyone on my team was okay. Short lived relief followed by a heaviness as the reality that casualties occurred crashed into my consciousness, that families and communities would be forever changed because of the "incident." I would cope by telling myself that I soon would be home.

I am home and the heaviness I feel is overwhelming. There are no front lines, the threat is everywhere. This is a WAR of ideology, I do not know what side is what by location or uniform, but what I do know is that as a person of color I am considered the enemy by some. For our skin to be Black, Brown, Yellow, Red..could mean we might not make it home.

Understand how unsettling it is to live in a place where you might be a target of violence AND/OR not get a job, loan, education, medical care, an OPPORTUNITY because of your skin color.

Racism is not logical, it is a belief that is rationalized and validated when people in power overtly or subtly give credence. It's time to OVERTLY and POWERFULLY stand against racism. Stand together, do not tolerate the jokes, stereotypes, or innuendos. Stand strong with friends, and family. Raise your voice, silence is acceptance.

I am an American, I am NOT the enemy. I believe in the ideals in which this country was founded, I donned the uniform and fought for those ideals, and I continue that fight...

Preamble to the Declaration of Independence

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.