Independence Day

These are difficult times we live in, an era that challenges everything we used to believe about what America represents (or should represent), a period that, for many American citizens, questions our pride in our own identity, while also highlighting our largely-underserved privilege.  Many Americans feel a great deal of distress to the point of numbness and hopelessness about the state of the nation, fearful to turn on the news in the risk of discovering yet another disgrace, mistake, or infringement on our democracy.

This Independence Day, I experience a myriad of emotions and thoughts.  I struggle with waving the American flag when so many families and individuals are being denied access to our country's borders.  I question my allegiance to this country under a leader whose values are so different from my own.  And I feel more than a little hypocritical displaying red, white and blue patriotically when today's America seems so far from what the founding fathers may have envisioned.  On a non political note, the drunken festival that 4th of July has become is not appealing to everybody; fireworks are dangerous for kids and adults alike, drunk driving takes hundreds of lives every holiday, and the boom of the fireworks is traumatic for veterans suffering from PTSD, not to mention pets and wildlife. Needless to say, I'm finding it hard to get into the spirit of Independence Day.

Yet I am also cognizant of the freedom I have as an American to think these thoughts, to communicate them publicly, and to criticize and challenge my country's leaders without risk of persecution.  I am proud that I live in a country with reproductive freedom, marriage equality, and strong organizations that fight for human rights.  And I am fortune to live in a land of wealth and opportunity, where I can work as a physical therapist today, healing people, brightening people's day in the hospital, and earning a good paycheck, because I was blessed with opportunities to pursue education and accept an honorable job, which many people in the world will never experience.

On this Independence Day I also reflect on all the wonderful and noble principles that make America "America."  This is a nation of hope, opportunity, and social mobility, where people are rewarded for hard work, creativity, and innovation.  In America, people are encouraged to be unique, and are accepted for their eccentricities.  People choose their own destinies, rather than having a life course that is predetermined.  We have the freedom to speak, to act, to believe, and to be, without risk of persecution.  People are granted second chances.  Americans acknowledge the beauty of diversity and welcome the opportunity to learn from people who are different from ourselves.  These things today are true just as they were when this country was founded, although it's difficult to see the forest for the trees sometimes. 

On this day, I also reflect on how honorable it was for people of different backgrounds and beliefs to come together to form the United States of America, and to be visionary and insightful enough to establish principles by which this nation would operate for centuries to come.  It gives me hope, too, that despite the widening divide our country is facing, we will be able to find common ground and establish policies to benefit the common good.

Happy Birthday, America.