Independence Day

Is it me, or does anyone else NOT really care for the 4th of July?

I mean, recently, I just haven’t felt very patriotic. The past 5 years I don’t feel particularly proud of the country I call home.

Don’t get me wrong, it could always be worse. I KNOW!!! I’ve been to a few 3rd-world countries and the poverty out there is REAL!

I don’t know, but I just feel like the people in this country are being further divided. With political parties, religion, sexuality, race, income, and everything else under the sun, there are so many things driving wedges between all of us.

The thing is, there is not one person, thing, movement, group, etc, to blame for it. Are we doing this to ourselves? Have we set ourselves up for failure?

Do the people at the top have too much power? Maybe. Do the people with all the money have too much power? I believe so, yes. What can we do about it? I honestly don’t know. There are surges that put dents in their armor, but nothing is a real blow to the establishment. There are surges of protests. There is a surge of people refusing to work for minimum wage jobs, or poor-paying jobs. The pandemic was a wake-up call for a lot of people. Yet, we are still enslaved to many things. Yes, we are no longer a part of the British Empire. Yes, our armed forces fought in many wars and continue to do so to maintain our way of life. But we will always be enslaved to money. Our need for it. It’s what makes the world go round. Money pays for food, homes, healthcare, transportation, education, and the list goes on and on.

With many movies, shows, and books set in the future, money is no longer of use because mankind united behind something or an event shook the world. I always think, wow, that’s freedom.

Should people earn what they get? Absolutely! There’s nothing wrong with gifts though. Also, what about those of us with health issues who can no longer work in the fields they have trained and bled for? We have to beg for scraps or caretakers to care of us.

What’s it gonna take for us to be free? Aliens? Dystopia? A market collapse of some kind? I remember I never felt more American than after 9/11. That was the point I was truly tempted to join the military. I was angry and sad. The country came together in tragedy. But we also became prejudiced against many innocent people and eventually turned on each other again. Why does it take tragedy to change who we are? I guess—as I’ve learned from my own stubbornness—metal can only be molded when its put into the fire. What will be the next tragedy to unite us?

In the meantime, I still long for freedom.