Face it: America is a mess.
If you're not angry, you're not paying attention. The age of "I don't like politics" is over. It's time to care.
The Fourth of July is a time where the nation essentially rallies together, says "fuck you" to every other country, and binge drinks until they pass out in their lawn chairs. On a seemingly different spectrum, it's also a time where we honor and remember those who have laid down their lives fighting for our rights and freedoms.
While you celebrate this year, however, don't forget how angry you were the day before. Don't forget how tired of putting up with shit you are still. Don't forget about children being ripped away from their families and held in cages like animals, and don't let anyone attack you because you "weren't mad when it happened under Obama," because if you're young now, you were even younger then.
Don't forget about the racism, the police brutality that exists even though not all cops are bad. Don't forget about how unhappy you are with the performance of Washington, D.C. whether the party you voted for controls Congress or not. Don't forget about how the President of the United States treats women. Don't forget how Flint, Michigan still doesn't have clean water. Don't forget about Puerto Rico.
Don't forget about what America has become. As you read this, instead of getting angry, get motivated. Become encouraged to celebrate the good within the country that has such a dominating presence across the globe. Bring it back to what it used to be, and not through the underlyingly racist slogan of the President. Make America a place where everyone is loved, everyone is cared for, and everyone is actually proud to be an American again.
The Fourth of July isn't about shotgunning beers and shooting guns in the air in the name of freedom, but if that's how you want to celebrate, have at it. The Fourth is about reflecting on our history and if that makes us proud. Right now, it shouldn't. Prove to the rest of the world that America cares about diplomacy, our image, and our own citizens. This Fourth of July, remember being angry about the state of our nation and remember what brave individuals have died for: life, liberty, and justice for all. It's time to restore that.
