July 4th, 1776––the day that the American colonists mustered the power to take a stand against the British regime. True, it was the day on which 56 delegates signed the Declaration of Independence. But aside from a few mere scribbles of a quill on parchment, it was the birth of the American ideals of freedom, justice, and equality. It was a symbolic act as much as it was a physical one: it showed the world that a society with strong democratic values would never let tyranny stand, that where there is a people there is a power far greater than any monarch could wield. "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creators' certain inalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

And yet, more than 200 years later, these truths don't seem to be self-evident, and, apparently, all people aren't created equal. While black Americans continue to be shot, lynched, murdered in their own homes by the very system that has vowed to protect them, our leaders continue to live in this euphoria of "equality." As the Black Lives Matter movement gains traction globally, our leaders have ripped these words from the very fabric of our nation and weaponized them into the "All lives matter" defense mechanism. But "All Lives Matter" is just one meager example of how many people have used America's freedom as a guise for their underlying prejudice.

Just take the last few weeks as an example. Republicans in Congress will claim that all lives matter, but then readily support their constituents when they endanger other lives by not wearing a mask. If people are forced to wear a mask, then they'll whine about how the government is infringing on their freedoms, but then when white police officers infringe on the freedoms of black Americans it's just an isolated incident blown out of proportion. The "beauty" of it all is that both sides are entitled to their opinion, however harmful or untruthful it is. America's freedom of opinion is a dangerous double-edged sword that is slicing this nation into a people divided.

But I get ahead of myself. Back to the festivities. Let's talk about how America gained its independence in the first place. Prior to 1776, anti-British sentiment had begun to settle into the minds of a few, and these people were often deemed "left-wing radicals". Does this sound eerily familiar? If you've gone so much as watched even a few seconds of Fox News or any speech that our President has given in the past few weeks, it probably does. Republicans have crafted a narrative in which those who call for systemic reform are nothing more than a few disparaging fanatics. But alas, came Common Sense, both the title of Thomas Paine's 1776 novel and literally, common sense.

Paine denounced the oppressive monarchy and argued that people are born into a state of equality, which the British failed to protect. His novel sold hundreds of thousands of copies, awakening the colonists' inner rebel. Of course, today, we needn't a whole pamphlet published for there to be an iota of common sense. And I'm not saying that we need to violently overthrow the current government or even sign a Declaration of Independence. All of this would further divide our nation. Instead, this Independence Day, we must realize that America is far from the egalitarian utopia people play it out to be. Today, more than ever, common sense is a dire necessity.

So, while we comfortably celebrate our own freedom by watching aesthetically pleasing fireworks erupt like gunshots in the night sky, remember that there is a child in California staring at that same sky, but locked in a cage by ICE authorities, fearing for his or her life. Also under that same sky, peaceful protests are met with riot gear and tear gas. So this July 4th, consider what you're celebrating. Is it the divisive nature of our country? Is it the hypocritical values of our leaders? Is it your own selfish privilege? Or is it the celebration of a system imbued with the relics of racism? Ask yourselves these questions. Because while we may have freedom on paper, in reality, we are shackled down by our own ignorance, imprisoned in the walls of complacency.