Technically, the birthday should be on July 2nd (something John Adams argued for until he died - on July 4, 1826) because that was the day the delegates voted, but the document was signed on July 4th so here we are. And many people of all political viewpoints have been reflecting on "where are we" and "will we be here in another 50 years?" and "what will the United States of America resemble then?" [Some wonder what it will look like after the midterm elections in November, or the next Presidential election, or if anything happens to change the country's leadership before then.] Like many of my friends and my parents' contemporaries, I remember the Bicentennial and how it was recognized and celebrated. It was so different from today's celebrations, and not just because so many are being cancelled, rescheduled, or limited because of the dangerous heat wave and drought across the country.
Ten years ago, as part of the "We Are America" series, wrestler and actor John Cena made a video that I think resonates just as much today. We're still wrestling with the aftermath of slavery and the treatment of the indigenous peoples and immigrants, and the late granting of the vote to women (which some people think they should cede to their husbands), but we are still here, and many of us are trying to fight to continue the country we believe in, built on "truths [that are] self-evident, that all men [and women] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
