Do you remember this? There was so much controversy over the diversity in this video. Many people felt that it wasn't "American" enough, while others loved it. Honestly as the 4th of July approaches (or has passed probably by the time you read this), I struggle with the question of what it means to be American and to live in the land of freedom and opportunities. Especially when it doesn't always feel as if all of the freedom and opportunities here are available to me and many of the subcultures in America.
America to me used to be this amazing place where anyone could do and be whatever and whoever they wanted. I used to think of us all as one big community working for the better of all of its members. I'd see us fighting side by side for the same things for the same reasons. But sadly as I get older and as I learn more, America becomes a place that's never really existed. At least not in the sense of this country being what it claims to be or even having a solid identity.
This land was stumbled upon in hopes of riches and fame, it was taken in order to provide a small group of people refuge and another group with revenue. It grew and was developed with a spirit of rebellion and power. And the dream was freedom in a land that offered endless opportunities, if one were willing to pave the way for them. Since then we've continued to chase this idea of freedom, but we've never actually embraced it.
The obvious thing to point out would be slavery. Harriet Jacobs, a former slave, entrepreneur and author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, writes, along with Frederick Douglass, that slavery seemed to enslave the masters as well as the slaves. Though the masters were physically free their minds became trapped in a way of being that took away the freedom they could have had without slavery.
Another painfully obvious issue, is that this land, the freedom and opportunities it offers were only gained by taking freedom, life, and opportunities from others. And even now Native American communities continue to struggle while the majority continues to celebrate freedom.
When I was thinking of what to write I thought I was going to write about the speech Jesse Williams gave at the BET Awards and how it apply to the Fourth of July. but if you've watched or read the speech it becomes pretty obvious that although we celebrate freedom Americans have never really been free. How can we be the land of the free while we kill and oppress one another? Are those just some of the things we're free to do?
I started this article with a beautiful rendition of America the beautiful and if you're still with me, reading this article, for some strange reason, answer this. What freedoms do you enjoy here? While America isn't completely free we're still a lot free-er than most other places, we still have opportunities that are bursting at their seams, we still have it good. We just have to be careful to get to be where we want to be.
American has come a very long way and maybe it has achieved some of it's goals in terms of status, but the main reason I said this country is not free (other than the obvious incidents of oppression) is that as a nation and as individuals we still can't be who we want to be. We've never had a firm identity and now as we go through the growing pains of seeking one, we all want to reject one another.
What freedoms do you experience here? What freedoms would you like to see? Are you just hoping and playing make believe, and are are you growing into who you want to be?
