WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AMERICAN?

Every year what it means to be American and the emotions that come with it get even more complex. It is a true exercise in holding polarities or opposite emotions, and in being grateful for the many things we enjoy and the privileges we have and especially lately, the many things that we have lost or had taken away.

What does it mean for a woman in America today? What does it mean to be a mother, a wife, a sister, a daughter? In the year 2022, it means you can wake up with the rights you thought you would have without question, the ability to make choices about your health care, your body and your life erased by, well, other Americans — Americans who will never have to make that choice for themselves. Knowing that if you are part of the LGBTQ community, next could be your right to get and remain legally married, to legally adopt your children and more. If you are a mother, it means that you will continue to worry about your child’s safety in school because of the lack of will for these same Americans to act on the largest safety threat facing our children.

So what does it mean to be an American today?

Let’s define what it could be aspirationally because we are clearly not there today.

To be an American is to recognize that it is our differences, not our similarities, that make us strong and beautiful. To be American is to recognize that individually we can make choices that don’t hurt others and be more than OK.

To be an American is to recognize that there is room for all of us and our uniqueness. To be American is to recognize that love is love and is truly better than hate. To be American is to show up to support others and their successes and struggles. To be American is to welcome the stranger. To be American is to be and to co-exist despite our different beliefs.

It is my hope that one morning soon we will awake to a new day, as Americans, with true equity and love for all that makes America great — our diversity. Until then show up and fight for the America we know can exist if we aspire to create it.