The Fourth of July is merely days away and I’m counting down the hours until I can get my butt to the beach. Like most Americans, I spend the Fourth surrounded by people I love, good food and a body of water. It is the epitome of being American. Wearing red, white and blue, running around in bikinis, eating burgers, setting off fireworks and, if you’re legal, drinking a beer. We’re partying, but are we remembering why we’re celebrating?
America has been through war after war, fighting and defending our freedom to, well for one, party. Our independence from Britain was only the beginning of a long continuous fight for human rights. At 18, my grandfather flew P51 Mustangs in WWII. At 23, my great uncle stormed the beach at Normandy. They live to tell the tale of the battles they fought for us, but there are so many who can’t. Is it possible that we see July 4 as just another day to party and not what it truly is: a day to celebrate our freedom and the people who gave it to us?
America is not perfect. I am completely aware of that. However, I’m not perfect and I still expect to be celebrated every time my birthday rolls around. We as a country are fighting for so much right now. But we are also winning. We have a female as a final candidate for presidency. Love is legal, everywhere. Schools are full of all different types of ethnicities. Sure, we are still fighting some of the same battles we’ve been fighting since we became this great nation, but think about how different your life would be without the wars our ancestors have fought for us.
America, just like a human, has her faults, but I stand with her. I am proud of who I am and where I come from. I am thankful for the days I get to spend on a beach with my family. I am thankful for the opportunity to marry anyone I choose. I am thankful for the opportunity to vote for our leader. I am thankful for the men and women who gave their lives for me to be able to write this without fear of punishment for having an opinion. I am thankful for my family who fought the world in war.
Freedom isn’t just our right to bear arms. We are free to believe in, say and listen to whomever or whatever we want. We are a people full of ideas, artwork and beautiful hearts. Would that be true if July 4, 1776, had gone differently? Maybe take some time to thank the people and the country that deserves it while you’re sipping on your Bud Light next Monday.
