Standing on the piers of Brooklyn Bridge Park, I watched as sparklers whistled over the East River and sirens wailed in the distance. The warmth of people, music, and crackling fireworks surrounded my family as flashes emitted from cameras and explosions alike. Beer cups, glow sticks, and American flags littered the ground as my mother embraced me for a photo and my father’s camera flashed.
Independence Day was established to celebrate the creation of America and our departure from a controlling monarchy. The national anthem is streamed on live television as faces are slicked with red, white, and blue paint and Americans across the country express patriotism for our nation, its progress, and the principles that the founding fathers promised: “liberty and justice for all.”
But just one day before this year’s celebration of our country, the American government passed a bill to cut Medicaid, food benefits, and funding for clean energy to fund the southern border. Two weeks before that, the government enabled Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest and deport Los Angeles residents without a warrant or the constitutional right to due process. And only three months prior, the president signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, the agency which provides federal oversight for grant and food programs for students.
While these actions reflect a sharp growth of systemic oppression within America, they only further the country’s deep rooted history of bigotry. Disabled and low-income Americans, groups who rely most on Medicaid, have had the lowest access to healthcare since the country’s establishment. ICE raids have contributed to the growing rates of racial profiling in Hispanic communities, and dismantling the DOE would deprive minority students of an access to education, contributing to growing educational disparities.
These actions and the history of the country which enacted them is not worth celebrating. Yet this Saturday, I, and thousands of others across the nation, still peered over heads to watch fireworks and cheer. Standing there, breathing in the smoke and watching the sparks dwindle, I began to consider what it was I was celebrating for.
Hundreds of other New Yorkers surrounded me celebrating kindly, respectfully, and unified, drinking the same sodas and all reveling in awe at the fireworks. Strangers had conversations, different languages tangoed, and people from all walks of life embraced each other freely.
It was then I realized that I was not celebrating the America we have today, nor the one established in 1776. Instead, the 4th of July became a symbol of the America we could have tomorrow.
Defiance against corruption manifests itself in several ways, all of which surrounded me constantly that day. Our very ability to unite for our country illustrates our resistance against the current regime as they attempt to create a divided America. It is this spirit of revolution that is what the 4th of July should embody, as it celebrates a country independent from elites which enforce their rule upon us. Even as the final fireworks fizzled and the smoke began to fade, this spirit will burn bright.
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