It is July 4th, the day "we" won our freedom. In 1776, this meant that the select few white men were considered free. It is 2020, and the descendants of those white men are still the only truly free people of this country we call the "land of the free".

This year, July 4th feels heavy. I had never felt the weight, or significance, of the holiday before -- only celebrating it in name with a very superficial understanding. However, this year I am aware of my ignorance, and am reckoning with it every day. Just the fact that I had taken joy in the creation of America, without considering the countless Native Americans who lost their land and rights in the process shows who has written the narrative of America's history. It does not feel right that we celebrate our freedom from the British oppressor, when we oppress our own people today.

How are those oppressed supposed to celebrate this day? How did the creation of America serve them? It didn't. What it did do was subject them to slavery, to poverty, to racism, to disenfranchisement, to generations of cultural degradation.

This year, I am turning to Independence Day with a new mindset -- a hopeful one. I will celebrate the future that is actually the land of the free, and revolution that began in 2020. The pandemic exposed our ill-equipped government, and the minorities left vulnerable. The Black Lives Matter movement in response to the murders of countless Black people by police exposed our corrupt and unjust institutions. Thus, this year has made me aware of what I have, and what others do not. I want to live in a country where every person is free, and I will celebrate that hope today.

We need to change the way we see July 4th -- let it not be the day we won freedom, but the day we honor this fight for freedom for all.