Thank you, President Obama, for the role you played in having the Army Corp of Engineers consider alternative routes for the Dakota Access Pipeline that was going to be constructed under Lake Oahe near the Standing Rock Indian reservation.

It was obvious to many of us citizens when we first heard about the proposed pipeline that it was wrong to have a pipeline go under lakes and rivers and through sacred Native American land. But, events in United States’ history – along with recent election outcomes – have taught us citizens that common sense doesn’t always prevail in this land; greed and power typically does. Children in this country have recently gotten the message that the cruel words of bullies results in gaining power. Children all over the country are now emulating that behavior. Children all over the country are now victims of that behavior.

As I have watched the especially hateful rhetoric and behavior that has resulted from this year’s U.S. presidential race, I have felt ashamed to be an American. Watching the plea of the protestors at Standing Rock going unanswered for so long added to my concern that the Dakota Access Pipeline would be yet another entity that would rampage our country, causing harm to many in the process of getting its way – and wealth for certain corporations and stockholders.

Because of the action taken today, and your willingness to stand up and stop a bully in its tracks, I feel a little less ashamed to be an American. You and your administration stood up today for the rights of the people who had this land stolen from them, stood up for common sense, simply stood up when it seems so much easier in this country to sit and do nothing when it comes to complex matters. President Obama, you have set an example for all of us to stand up for our neighbors who are in need of help fighting the bullies around them. I hope American children are watching this.

I wish my next President wouldn’t knock over what has been gained at Standing Rock today.

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