[vmception]

The "land of the free, home of the brave" quote came from a lawyer moonlighting as a poet watching actual brave people fighting in a war. It was catchy enough to become the national anthem 120 years later (after being used in the military for 30 years or so prior), but don't confuse that opportunistic indoctrination with reality.

It has nothing to do with anything, nothing to do with any legal reality, nothing to do with the constitution, the structure of the government, the declaration of independence from the UK, life in practice within the US, or any comparison to any other developed nation at the time it was written (1812) or now (2021). American exceptionalism relies on completely ignoring countries with Human Development Index or rights that are at parity or better, and relies on hyperbolic comparisons to the worst countries in the world.

Hope that helps you understand your experiences here! Without context, the cognitive dissonance (confusion from competing ideas and observations) can be very confusing!

[selimthegrim]

Also a slaveholder, which came through in the anthem as well