I wrote this Letter to the Editor almost four years ago, but I think it is still applicable today:

It is unfortunate that many Americans have the attitude that if someone disagrees with the current administration then they do not belong in this country. This country was founded on the freedom of the individual, but it is beginning to seem as if this freedom is slowly slipping away. If a U.S. citizen cannot express his or her own opinion of the President and the government without being called anti-American, then how can he or she be considered a free citizen? If everyone took the attitude that it is anti-American to disagree with or protest the decisions made by our current administration, we could very possibly end up living under a dictatorship.

I did not vote for Bush and do not agree with his politics, but I still consider myself an American. I consider everyone who lives in this country to be American—no matter who they voted for or whether or not they even voted. I voted against Bush for two reasons. The first reason is that I am a pacifist. I have never fought in a war, but I know enough about them to loathe the kind of damage and destruction they cause. In my opinion, wars are so terrible that there is no logical reason or justification to start them. I believe in the sacredness of all human life, and because of that, I do not agree with the justification of killing others even in the name of freedom. Many people argue that change cannot happen without wars. To them, I say, look at Gandhi. Gandhi was a pacifist and made many positive changes in the world without supporting warfare.

The second reason I did not vote for Bush is because of the chauvinistic attitude he seems to have for our country and the Christian faith, and the intolerant attitude he has toward other countries and faiths. I do not think anything good can come from believing that one religion and country is better than the others. By taking this attitude, people stop questioning their own beliefs. If people do not critically examine their own beliefs, they will never fully understand them, and furthermore will never learn to respect people whose beliefs differ from their own.

Unfortunately, many Americans have taken a superior attitude toward people of other nations and faiths. Carl Jung, the renowned psychologist, made an important point that if people are unwilling to acknowledge their own darkness and flaws, they will unconsciously project their darkness onto other people. It appears that this may happening with our own people. We are unconsciously projecting our own imperfectness onto people of other nations. How can we justify going to war when we are also imperfect?

Gandhi made a profound and powerful statement when he said you can die for your own version of truth, but you should not kill others for your own version of truth. I think it is important for all of us to be reminded of this statement. We are starting wars in the name of our own version of truth, which is a dangerous thing to do. I think it is time we take a step back from the judgmental lens that we have pointed at other nations, and point the lens back at our own nation.