“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
Abraham Lincoln
I haven’t celebrated 4th of July in years. When I was a child, I have fond memories of going to Echo Park in Los Angeles with my family. Waiving my sparklers and feeling patriotic, because that is what I was taught in school. You wave a flag, gather the family for a barbecue and celebrate our ‘freedom.’ Hooray for fireworks! No matter which part of the world you are currently reading this in, we all know my country is no exception when it comes to screwing its citizens. Somehow we still hold the championship trophy though. As I write this, I find myself wondering if I can go see my family in México without being deported myself. While I am a U.S. citizen, it seems that nothing is deterring this administration from breaking laws, maintaining dignity, or having any decency.
As of July 3rd:
- Our country still doesn’t have a comprehensive immigration bill on the table. It’s been this way my entire life and I’m not hopeful that things will change under this administration.
- Over the weekend cities across the country gathered for the ‘Families Belong Together’ protests. In Portland, protestors have shut down the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) office. Immigrant detention is big business and some people have justified separating kids from their parents and putting them in jail. Disgusting.
- Five journalists were gunned down in Annapolis, Maryland. The press is under constant attack. The day before the shooting a conservative provocateur said, “I can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning journalists down on sight.” He is now saying it was a joke.
- Flint, Michigan still doesn’t have clean water.
- Puerto Rico is still struggling after Hurricane Maria.
- Wildfires are spreading in Northern California and largely ignored by the rest of the country. Other states: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, and New Mexico.
- Another young African-American man was gunned down by a rogue police officer in Pittsburgh.
- The TransCanada pipeline exploded in West Virginia.
- Here’s a published list of wars the US has participated in. By the way, notice that the Yemeni War isn’t listed. You can research that.
…and it goes on like this.
In a time of uncertainty, I wake up each day wondering how low this country can stoop. Each day I am both outraged and saddened by the state of our nation.
Therefore, what is there to celebrate when our current administration does nothing but step all over the ideals on which this country was founded upon. How could I celebrate freedom, when my freedoms and those of my fellow Americans are on the chopping block each day?
I simply can not.
