America 250

 

Merriam-Webster defines independence as, “the state of being free from the control, influence, or support of others. It is the ability to make your own decisions, govern yourself, and take care of your own needs”. It encompasses personal independence, political independence, and independence of mind.

Independence Day, also known as the 4^th of July, is an American holiday commemorating America gaining independence from Great Britain in 1776. Today marks 250 years of that independence. Tones of freedom ring loudly in the celebration of the holiday.

Freedom is the foundation of The Declaration of Independence, the historic document commemorating the day asserting that all people have natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Thomas Jefferson writes this celebrated document as he enslaves Black people, impregnating a minor Sally Hemings. The hypocrisy…

Enter Frederick Douglass...  

On July 5, 1852, Mr. Douglass, a self-emancipated Black man through escape from slavery, is invited by the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, to offer an address in honor of America’s Independence Day. Per usual, he rose to the occasion in grand style and delivered one of his most memorable and powerful speeches, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, wherein he challenged the hypocrisy of a nation espousing liberty and freedom as core values while enslaving Black people.

Although not aware of Mr. Douglass’ speech for most of my life, as it was not taught in American schools, the hypocrisy he so eloquently described has always been rooted in my soul. Always, I have felt conflicted about this holiday of “independence” that America goes all out for. It has simply always been paid time off to spend with family and friends. I, too, questioned what exactly we were celebrating? Freedom? Independence? Whose freedom and independence? Aren’t we still having the same conversations in 2026 that Mr. Douglass raised for debate in the 1800s, the humanity and citizenship of Black Americans? So, tell me again, what are we celebrating?

Celebrating Independence Day has always been a challenge for me and, I think, many Black Americans. The celebration this year, however, is heightened in that it marks 250 years of America’s freedom, the self-proclaimed global example and blueprint of democracy to be revered and modeled by all. I remember questioning all the hoopla even as teen in 1976, the exaggerated celebration felt hypocritical.

This milestone celebration of 250 years, however, is different.

 In 1976 all the stops were pulled out for the bicentennial. The nation excitedly prepared for this celebration, months, if not years, in advance of the actual day. There were military parades, profound speeches were prepared and delivered, a commemorative coin was coined, extraordinary fireworks and grand community celebrations were had, we were inundated with everything red, white, and blue.

This year, the mood is very different. I am even further removed from there being a holiday such that, when I walked into my gym last week, I asked, what’s up with the red, white, and blue? Seriously, I am totally checked out. The lack of national excitement or enthusiasm for celebration of the 250^th year of America’s independence allows one to be checked out.

Collectively, We The People are a functionally depressed nation, going through the motions, tolerating or managing what feels like the worst of times, certainly not a time of celebration. Each day we awake to another day of WTF did he do while we slept.  Many are fleeing the country or considering it. It’s exhausting…

Didn’t we resolve this in 2020? How did we get here again? America MUST examine herself and seriously ponder the vast answers to that question. I digress...

The nation is under siege from within. Instead of being internationally celebrated for 250 years of model democracy, freedom, and independence, the US is being ridiculed and shunned for slipping into a place of darkness in pursuit of recreating the gravest of her original sins. She wants her property back. You too, white women…

The white house, turned cheap, gawdy gold, has been turned into a circus and junk yard combined as one. The reflecting pool is now a cesspool filled with algae. Foreign leaders are being kidnapped and brought to the US to be tried for crimes against their nation as crimes and corruption is being actively and openly practiced by “leaders”, themselves convicted, at the very helm of this nation. The hypocrisy…

Innocent fisherman and children in school are being bombed just because…   

Americans are losing basic freedoms we have come to take for granted. While we were distracted with interpretation and adherence to the 2^nd Amendment right to bear arms, our 1^st Amendment rights to free speech, free press, right to assemble, right to privacy, and such, were being dismantled. Education, healthcare, and welfare systems are being demolished. People who failed to vote or who voted in the interest of harm to others, are finding out as harm knocks on their door…

We The People, are truly unrepresented. So, tell me again, what are we celebrating?   

A friend summed it up this morning with his Facebook post, “It feels weird to celebrate our independence, when it’s pretty clear we’re losing it”.  Some of us have never truly had it…      

Merriam-Webster defines subjugation as the act of bringing people, a territory, or a group under    complete control and forced submission. It involves one dominant party taking away the freedoms, sovereignty, or rights of another, often through conquest, oppressive rule, or systemic power imbalances.

We are at a crossroad folks. Which way will we turn? 

Miss Higgi Says, Happy Subjugation Day? 🤷🏾