American History

They told me that I would want to be like Them. 
An American. 	Like Them. 	
               (I was born here)
They told me to learn English. 
That would make me an American. 
		(American was speaking English like Them)
They told me to salute/worship/put my hand over my heart/stand tall before the American Flag. 
		(But I thought only their god deserved that tribute)

They told me their heroes would be my heroes. Like Them.
             The Declaration of Independence 
             All Men are Created Equal
                (41 of 56 of the signers enslaved humans)
             The Constitution of the United States of America
              excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other
              Persons
                (25 of 55 signers enslaved humans)
              All the Founding Fathers 
                 (12 White Presidents enslaved humans)
		 (Washington enslaved humans for 56 years)
                 (Jefferson enslaved over 600 humans)             

Home of the Free. Home of the Brave. For White Men only
                (Not Black, Brown, Indigenous, Women
                  of any color)
They told me to believe them. They wouldn’t lie. 

But They forgot to tell me about 
                (The broken treaties and genocide 
                  against indigenous humans)
	        (The enslavement of humans in 
                   forced labor camps called Plantations)
		(The racist and brutal Manifest Destiny)
                (The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882)
                (The internment of Japanese Americans 
                  for their own good)
                (The other American History 
                  They didn’t want to hurt my feelings)

They told me to believe Them. Why would they lie?
 All the good things came from Europe 
                  (Everywhere else was a shit-hole)
They told me to believe Them. 
Speak like Them. Act like Them. Dress like Them. Eat like Them. And then They will call you an American. Like Them. 
They told me to believe Them. They wouldn’t lie.