Take a deep breath.

Do you smell that smoggy, wonderful smell? Can you hear the sirens in the distance, singing their songs of warning in the crisp night air? Take a bite out of a stick of butter, that’s decadent beyond belief isn’t it?

What you are hearing, smelling and tasting – is America. Arguably the best place to be on this floating space rock we call Earth. We are the land of the free, home of the Dodger Dog, mother of the Internet and refuge to people from all walks of life.

Honestly, and from the point of view of a 26 year old white male, America is a land of wide open possibilities and freedom to do almost anything you want, just as long as you don’t infringe of someone’s rights while exercising your own. Seems simple enough to me. After all, I’ve never been turned down for a job because of the color of my skin or an accent on my English, I never get pulled over, I’m engaged to a lovely woman and not one person or entity has tried to meddle with our plans.

But what if I’m wrong and am actually some quasi-minority?

It seems every morning as I read the news sites and drink my coffee there are more and more stories about public distrust in law enforcement being at an all time high, everyday people not being able to find a job, or marry someone they love, or some racist idiot in the headlines because he killed some kids over a parking space. What the hell America!?

It’s crazy to me that race is still such an issue in this country. Sure, we (white people) really fucked up in the beginning. Slavery was (and is) terrible and nothing can ever fix our scarred history, but we are so far removed from that generation of people that it doesn’t even make sense to me. Aside from some slack-jawed rednecks, I think the majority of Americans (not just white people) would like to put this to bed. I think even labeling people in subclasses like “African American” is stupid. Do you really think the average black person identifies with Africa as their home? I doubt it. They are simply American. There is no dual citizenship in play, or some cool Premier Membership plan, just regular citizens who happen to be a different shade of tan and pay their dues like anyone else does. Maybe I’m crazy. I just know that when I get cut off on the freeway by someone, I don’t check to see if they are a white asshole or a black asshole – they are just some asshole that cut me off. I guess the bright side here is that an entire generation of bitter old people will be dying off in the next 10 years which makes way for younger voters and people in general to even out the odds and make an impact towards moving forward instead of living in the past.

Which brings me to my next point, if you love someone – marry him or her. Or don’t, that’s also your choice, but it should be no one else’s business what a person does with their love life or who that person decides to spend their days with. If someone wants to marry their best friend, they should have every right to do so. It doesn’t hurt anyone else, “God” wont rip open the skies, and I promise you – your kids will not somehow be turned gay if they go to school with a child that has two dads or moms. Kids have no clue and are blissfully happy just being able to go home to someone that cares for them, regardless of their sexual preference.

Out of curiosity, do you know how many kids are in need of a permanent home or adoption in our fare America? You don’t? Well, the number is floating around 400,000 children – just in our country – that are in need of a stable and loving home. Now, I’m not a scientist, but most same-sex couples can’t make their own babies – which is uniquely perfect in this situation. If two people are stable and want to have children, but are otherwise unable to make that a reality in a conventional sense, adoption and fostering are amazing alternate options. Even if you can make your own babies, adopt your second or third. You don’t really need 3 biological kids anyway.

If you are still reading these ramblings, I will leave you with a final thought or three:

Avoid the police – Everyone, people of all colors, are getting shot or beaten these days.

Enjoy the little things – If that’s holding a beautiful persons hand, smoking a doobie with your pals or even finding a Twinkie in your pantry, enjoy the hell out of it.

Vote – Sure its tedious and most the of the issues are spun up in expensive webs, but I’m not down with 1984…

– by GM.