My Essay on The Independent: “…I’ll Be Celebrating the Fourth of July Very Differently This Year”

Happy Fourth of July, friends! Instead of the usual jolly, patriotic fanfare that I usually bring to the blog every year on this historic American holiday, I’d like to talk about something more serious today. Because honestly? Well, I cringed when I wrote the word ‘happy‘ next to Fourth of July. I cringed because in 2019, we can’t look at things like the American flag and smile and beam with pride. At least, I can’t.

In fact, I wrote about this very topic for my newest op-ed in The Independent. Why? Because, frankly, things in our country seem downright dire these days. I know I’ve said that before, but you know what? I’m going to keep saying it until I don’t need to say it anymore — until the day when things actually change for the better. Some days, I worry that day will never come, that it’s some sort of impossible dream that will never come true.

Here’s an excerpt of the piece, in which I wrote about how I’ll be “celebrating” the Fourth of July today and I hope that you’ll follow my lead…

So, yes, Lady Liberty is weeping this year. And we should be too. So this year, to “celebrate” the Fourth of July, I’ll be donating to organizations that are fighting to end family separation. It’s something I can do. It’s my way of saying to families at the border, “Yes, I see you and I’m with you.”

We as Americans are not any different than those crossing the border and it’s important that we remember that as we celebrate things like freedom and the ideals of this country. On the Fourth of July and every day. Immigrants don’t break this country; they make this country. They make it the beautiful melting pot that it is – rich in culture.

You can read the full piece here and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me anytime at mellow1422@aol.com and let’s chat! And of course, feel free to share my essay on Facebook, Twitter or even your local refrigerator. If you share on Twitter, be sure to tag me @melissablake so we can connect! I can’t wait to hear from you! Love you all… xoxo