When I first learned that Kamala Harris had lost, I was devastated thinking about not only the many opportunities for progress our country had lost, but also the many sorrows and setbacks our great nation would be experiencing in the coming months. Before I fell asleep on that dark night, another apprehension hit me; namely, that our celebration of the 250th birthday of our wonderful democracy would occur when we were to be led by a person of low moral character who had such little regard for the norms, laws, and institutions of the noble experiment our founders bequeathed to us in the 18th century. I fell asleep even more depressed.
This weekend our 250th celebration will be upon us and sadly, many of my worries on that faraway Election Night have been brought to fruition due to the executive, legislative and often even the judicial branches failing to live up to the principles our founders incorporated into our Constitution. The incompetence, selfishness, and destructiveness embodied in this administration is reflected in the foolish and failing vanity projects of the green algae filled Reflecting Pool and the rubble that was once the East Wing of our White House. And then there is the pointless, expensive war of bad choice in Iran and the unelected oligarch’s chain saw haphazardly cutting through and killing so many vital federal programs, jobs, and institutions.
The list of horrors could go on for pages. Therefore, many will not feel up to a patriotic July 4th party this weekend.
But I will celebrate, and I hope you do too.
Do not let the current ugly ideology infecting our government lead you to sorrow on this July 4th. Don’t let this administration take that from you too. For we have been here before and we have prevailed and we will prevail again. We the People will.
In the beginning, we overthrew a powerful monarchy from our backs and created a revolutionary form of government never before seen in the world: a country ruled by the People and not by kings or tyrants. We expunged the evil of slavery even if it meant fighting a bloody civil war to keep our country together true to the ideals of our founding. We fought to make women free to vote and to have control over their health and reproductive freedom. We rose up against the backlash of Jim Crow and fought hard for civil rights as a Texan President Lyndon Johnson with a southern accent pronounced the vital American need to end segregation and enforce civil and voting rights for all people of color. We fought two World Wars to make the world safe for democracy and end an ugly fascist racist Nazi blight on humanity. We fought to bring equality and acceptance to the LGBTQ+ community. We became a world leader in scientific research and engineering applications that brought us to the moon first. We developed cures and vaccines for so many previously thought incurable diseases. We were the envy of the world and the best people flocked to our shores, passing a welcoming Statue of Liberty to add their hard work and unique gifts to our excellence.
Yes, we have made some mistakes, but the dream of America, embodied in our ideals of diversity, truth, science, tolerance, education, law and equality, is something to be proud of and to celebrate. And celebrate we should, because of the fact that our American dream is still with us after 250 years of struggle.
READ: Red, White and Blue: A Strategy for Survival as Native Americans Navigate 250 Years of History
So in this time of a pointless war, when we are wasting so many resources in the tools of destruction that could better be spent improving the lot of all humanity, when I hear the words in our anthem “bombs bursting in air” and see the beautiful colors in the night sky of spectacular fireworks, I will also hear the beautiful words of a wise creative woman Joni Mitchell as I salute the dream of America on her 250th birthday:
We were half a million strong
And everywhere, there was song and celebration
And I dreamed I saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
And they were turning into butterflies
Above our nation.
May peace and love be with us all this weekend. Happy Birthday, America.
