It’s time to rethink the meaning of July 4

The July 4 weekend is going to look different this year. The continuing threat from coronavirus has canceled most fireworks shows. Large backyard gatherings are risky. Crowded beaches bring with them the possibility of lapses in social distancing and infection.

But beyond the changes in how we celebrate our freedom and independence, a more profound question deserves our attention this year. The killing of George Floyd, the protests that followed and the overdue wake-up call that seems to be resonating throughout society demands a more critical look at the question of how free we really are.

Are we one nation, indivisible? With liberty and justice for all?

No, definitely not for all. Justice, as we have long known and more recently started paying closer attention to, is as much a function of the color of one’s skin as anything else. The problem of police departments in Hartford, New Haven and cities across the nation aggravating tensions rather than reducing them is a critical issue now being addressed at the local, state and federal levels.

Indivisible? Hardly. While the broad support for the Black Lives Matter protests has been a heartening sign, the last few years have laid bare deep divisions in our nation when it comes to matters of racial equality. The explosion of frustration and anger following Floyd’s death followed years of escalating hate speech and actions. More recently, those who see in the movement a threat or a challenge to the status quo have begun to lash out. In Connecticut, one of the more troubling signs has been a surge of racial attacks and assaults.

While it would be naive to even suggest that the overt racial hostility we’ve seen over the last several years is something new, the role of President Trump in fomenting racial divide has been a tragic chapter in American politics. Amid calls for change, Trump has doubled down on his role as racist-in-chief, calling Black Lives Matter a “symbol of hate” in a transparent effort to fire up his base. His appeal to the basest tribal instincts among us hearkens back to some of the darkest moments in American history.

It’s time to turn this into a better moment.

But that will take hard work, some soul searching and setting aside some of the basic assumptions we carry with us from day to day. On July 4, the assumption we should question is that we are a nation that truly cherishes freedom and independence. If all are not free to enjoy the freedoms we celebrate with fireworks and cookouts, is anyone truly free? If the ideals of justice for all and of being one nation — indivisible — are truths worth pledging allegiance to, they are truths worth fighting for.

America is and always has been a work in progress and we’ve all been reminded over these past months that there is much work left to do. Independence Day shouldn’t be a moment to kick back and forget what’s going on across the nation, it’s a chance to stop and think about what each of us can do to make the promise of July 4 a reality.

America’s Independence Day was never meant to be a celebration of our independence from one another. So next July 4, after a year that will likely continue to be defined by isolation and unrest, perhaps we’ll be able to mark the day by celebrating the work we did to push closer to becoming one nation, indivisible.

A few weeks ago, while waiting outside a store, I entered into a conversation with a fellow customer concerning the recent protests and the effect that the size of the crowds and lack of social distancing might have on Covid-19 infections among the protestors.

The gentleman, after shrugging off the amount of infections, expressed his frustration about the current unrest, stating that it was a lot of fuss over the actions of only one man. I did not debate this with him, but as I walked into the store, I could not help but think that this gentleman, like many others who think this way, are a big part of the problem.

I am white and the grandmother of five beautiful children, two of whom are bi-racial. I know that all five of these children will encounter many obstacles as they continue to grow and mature. But will all five of them