There’s a lot of history around the Fourth of July including a Tea Party that had a very different meaning from what it does today. The story of ragtag American colonists overthrowing the most powerful empire the world had known was a plot out of the best Hollywood would come to offer. But it did happen, complete with cinematic river crossings and imbedded love stories. And it is now our story, the story of a country begun by religious dissenters and international working class immigrants. Since my field is Postcolonial Studies, I’m glad things went the way they did. And we have a day to commemorate with friends, family, fireworks and of course, grilled meat.
I hope we can use the 4th to remember what brings us together, rather than what keeps us apart.