We must look forward without losing sight of our past.
As the son of an immigrant mother and a father with Native American ancestry, the 4th of July has always been a holiday full of tension and paradox. The American experience for my mom’s family has often aligned with the “Land of Opportunity” mythology. It has been a place where we have been able to be healthier and more prosperous than those before us, until it wasn’t. For my father’s family, it has been an experience that included loss of home, land, and cultural identity while struggling to embrace the celebration and potential of the American Dream.
America has always been an imperfect union desperately seeking to deliver on a dream of opportunity and equality, while being unwilling to acknowledge the immense harm it has been built upon.
Don’t get me wrong. I like barbecues and potato salad. I enjoy fireworks and popsicles. I love July for another birthday (my own)! And I will be gathering with friends and family tomorrow for the 4th of July. But as I do, I also like to acknowledge the realities of the America we live in today. For some, it has always represented the taking away of dreams and happiness. For some, it has been more heartbreak than laughter. For all of us, it has yet to live into the full potential of what it can be as a truly multi-racial and diverse democracy and economy. In recent days, it has often felt like we are farther than ever from that dream.
I hope that we each can take a moment to reflect tomorrow. On what gives us joy as well as what we still have to struggle for. And as we do so, let’s remember those who came before us as well as those walking amongst us for whom America is not much more than a faint idea. Let’s think about what has been taken and what it will take to make our communities whole, like our Waters Meet Board Member Margo Hill shares with us in this article from the Spokesman Review last week.
Happy 4th of July and here’s to a future that brings us closer to a dream of health, prosperity, and happiness for all of our neighbors.
Zeke Smith is the President of Waters Meet.
If you’re interested in learning more about our guiding principles, please check-out our Equity Healing Framework.