An Independence Day Call to Action
Today marks the 249th anniversary of this nation’s declaration of independence. It is normally a day for celebrations, a day to bask in the sunlight, to grill out, to have a beer, and most of all to see the joy and innocence of our children as they eat hot dogs and popsicles and watch awe inspiring displays of fireworks. It is a day which we Americans look forward to every year, a day when we can sit back and truly relax in complete and utter freedom without a care in the world, knowing that our freedoms were purchased in the blood of our forefathers and that they could never be taken from us.
Yet this year is far different. Today we do not celebrate. Rather we question and mourn what has become of this nation. In over two and a half centuries we Americans have stood against the yoke of oppression and not bent the knee to mad tyrants. Yet now we find ourselves under the iron thumb of a king worse than George III, and where are those pledged to protect us? Where are our representatives and our senators? Are they standing in the halls of Congress or marching on the Oval Office to demand answers? No, they stand and cheer as he and his minions strip away more rights, more dignities, and more protections from the most vulnerable. They dance and laugh as masked ICE agents kidnap people from the streets, throw them in cells, and ship them to far off lands or to squalid and dangerous prisons. They deny and deflect as health care and food is taken away from the old, the sick, the vulnerable, the children. And for what we ask? So that they can stay in office and hold onto whatever power it is they think they still have? Or is it perhaps so that they too can grow fat off the land at the people’s expense? We may never know the answer, but we do know one thing. Far too many of those we elect to serve us have betrayed their oaths and doomed us and our children to hunger, illness, and death.
Surely though we can look to our courts of law. They will protect us against these jackals and their chief. Surely, they will strike down these blatantly unlawful and immoral decrees. Ah what a pipe dream for us to believe. While, some judges still remember their oaths, not so our highest court, Nay, they have decreed that the President may do as he wishes with no consequence. It is perhaps fitting that their robes are black, because the souls they sold in this devil’s bargain are as black as those robes.
So, what then are we ordinary Americans supposed to do? This Independence Day all seems in despair. We have seen our neighbors silenced, our rights trampled, and the most vulnerable of us abandoned all because of men hell bent at enriching themselves and damn the consequences. It is hard to fight against this tide of despair, but if there is something we as Americans love more than anything, it is the underdog who fights against injustice. After all we were some of the first underdogs in the modern world and how could a group of rustic colonials fight against the mightiest empire in the world and win? Yet this is exactly what we have done both back in 1776 and throughout our history. We continually fight against injustice and will do so despite all odds against us. We shall continue to speak out and speak up. We shall continue to demonstrate in the streets and we will reform this nation and our system of government and we will not let fear and hate conquer us.
Today then, let us make a sacred pledge as ordinary Americans. Let us renew that pledge that 56 men made 249 years ago and let this be our call to action:
“We therefore as an American people assembled here before the world and appealing to divine Providence do hereby solemnly declare that we shall no longer live in fear. We shall no longer let hate rule the day. We as an American people have the divine and natural right to exist free from tyranny and that all are welcome on these our shores. Justice shall reign and our government shall truly represent all people in this our land not just the billionaire. We shall fight to achieve this for our children and the generations to come. To this we pledge all that we have: our lives, our common wealth, and our sacred honor”.
