Black girl, you have known such brutality from the slave fields to Jim Crow. And yet they expect you to celebrate what for you has been a hard row to hoe.
You are to get out that great American flag and watch it wave over land you have tilled. You have watched your mother and your father work harder because they were unskilled.
Sit outside and watch the fireworks display. Put a couple of hot dogs on the grill. Don’t forget to eat some apple pie and then head for the baseball field.
Forget about all the horrors that this nation has heaped upon you. Don’t think of all the innocent people who were killed by this red, white and blue.
Remember what this nation stands for. And that brutality is sown in the flag. They have watered down the truth of its history. And your ass is too good for that rag!
Those of us who live in the United States of America have much to celebrate this July 4th, Independence Day. We should all proudly display the American flag because it represents our independence from British rule and hence a nation founded on freedom was born. We wake up each and every day in the land of the ‘free and the home of the brave’. There can be no complaints that we lack freedom because even our ‘money is free speech'(Citizens United) and by golly it spoke to the tune of over $5billion in the 2012 elections. Another great example of money over people, a bankroll over principles, hidden offshore accounts over paying taxes and yes, indeed that is most definitely something to celebrate.
We Americans have come a long way in ensuring that all citizens of this country are treated equally. We demand that the Indigenous Peoples of this land stop being shortchanged when it comes to what is rightfully theirs. We make damn sure that there is a level playing field for everyone. We not only had ‘no child left behind’ we have ‘no poor people left behind’. Everyone is housed, no one is lacking nourishing food, health care or gainful employment. Our power grids are the best in the world. Our roads and bridges are not in disrepair and on the verge of collapse. Pollution! What pollution? We have the cleanest air and water ever to be found, we would not stand for anything less. When we go to bed at night, we can sleep soundly in our beds because there is no need for people to engage in criminal behavior. Why should they? This is America! There is no need to rob or steal. Everyone can make it here, legally. We do not tolerate oppression, hate, disenfranchisement, division(separate but equal). There are no roadblocks to voter registration. We are free to place telephone calls to our loved ones without fear of being wiretapped. We can peruse the internet without fear that our keystrokes are being recorded by our government because this country was built on the premise of freedom from oppression. If you are oppressed, come here. We welcome you! The poem at the base of ‘Lady Liberty’ states just that.
Never let it be said that we condone drone strikes, war, torture, people detained indefinitely without due process. We mind our business and only engage in dialogue with other countries when asked. We are lovers of freedom and everyone in the world had better believe it because we are the torch bearers for freedom and justice for all! That is why every American citizen should celebrate Independence Day because America sets the bar high in freedoms for its citizens and that is a hard act to follow. We are to be envied because no other country has it so good!
