July 4th, 2025

On this anniversary of our country's independence, we find ourselves in a frightening situation. Our democracy has been hijacked--temporarily--by an administration that has established itself as an authoritarian regime. It aspires to a kind of behavior against which this country has fought, in many wars and in many places. We have all seen the intended chaos, the attacks on the United States Constitution, the abductions of thousands who have committed no crime, the arrogant disregard for laws, the petty scheming and plotting and assaults to silence by any means anyone who tries to maintain a sense of lawfulness and humanity, and the deliberate cruelty inflicted on non-citizens and citizens alike which will result in actual death. The U.S. Flag Code says an inverted flag should only be used "as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property," and we are truly in that very distress with lives on the line. But I say we are hijacked temporarily because I believe we have been a Democracy for far too long for us to turn into some third-world country whose government has always been shaky, suffering coup after coup. It is going to be harder than the current administration thinks.

So it is at this time in particular that we need to celebrate our Independence Day, our country, and the concept of actual, real Democracy. When nearly two and a half centuries ago, a band of patriots gathered in Philadelphia to declare that "all men are created equal," they intended for this country to be different form the others, to be better, to be always striving toward a more perfect union. It is why they made the Constitution a living document, able to be revised, changed, improved upon, thus improving the lives of everyone living in these United States. It is our true purpose, our original ideal to continually improve the quality of life for Americans--all Americans--no matter their race, sex, age, physical ability, religion, and sexual or gender identity. And July 4th is a celebration of that, a Celebration of Possibility, a celebration of the idea that we can continually improve upon our morals, our laws, our procedures, our attitudes. We continually strive toward those possibilities which include instead of exclude, which right what has been wrong, which bring more people into our national fabric, elevating and enriching life in this country. That is why it is particularly distressing and brings a very specific anguish to see these ideals, this leap toward possibilities of greatness that is part of our Constitution and of Democracy itself eroded, attacked, and mocked by the current government, conservatives, and the right wing and more shockingly, by a large section of our own fellow citizens who support the viciousness and hatred, demonstrating that only cruelty with a perverse need to punish and not the health and future of the United States and the well-being of its citizens is their point.

Today I am choosing to celebrate the possibilities of change, of improvement, of an ever-strengthening yearning toward a more perfect union, and the idea that we can protect what this country stands for. Please vote to honor these ideals in the 2026 mid-term elections--we must have a President and not a King or despot--and to ensure that we live up to the promise of making life for all citizens--ALL CITIZENS--better. We haven't yet and we need to, finally, fulfill that promise. And taking back at least one of the branches of government will help us in reclaiming our country, our Democracy, and our standing in the world. I love my country, I was born here, it is my home, and I have no intention of leaving or handing it over to the current administration and its supporters who want to turn it into an authoritarian fascist hell.

Here is the sonnet "The New Colossus" by poet Emma Lazarus which serves as the inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, our valuable ally. The inscription affirms the ideal of inclusiveness and the United States as a beacon of hope, comfort, and stability for anyone who seeks it.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"