In a time when rights are now contested, many voices are silenced, and families are torn apart by systems meant to protect and serve, Independence Day to me feels complicated.
For me, it is not just fireworks and parades—it’s remembering my ancestors who fought for a freedom they were denied, who built a nation they could not fully enjoy and call their own.
With the looming presence of agencies like ICE disrupting homes, the rising cost of living pushing people into shelters or the streets, and the cries of people, children, women, and men unheard in courts and capitols—freedom feels conditional. Justice feels delayed. Independence feels reserved for some, not for all.
And yet, the human spirit and soul endure.
Perseverance is not passive. It’s not just “holding on.” It is the radical act of still showing up—still planting gardens, still braiding your daughter’s hair, still speaking your truth, still loving fiercely, still sheltering one another.
Our courage to endure is a form of resistance. Our joy in the face of pain is a revolutionary act.
We do not glorify governments that forget the people—they are but passing winds. Instead, we glorify the Earth:The land beneath our feet, still feeding us.
The trees still whispering truth to the wind.
The rivers still carrying ancestral memory.
The sun still rising even when the headlines are heavy.
The Earth reminds us that life continues beyond the reign of presidents and politicians. That nature knows balance and restoration even when man does not.
So on this Independence Day, walk barefoot on the soil, breathe in the morning air, plant something—even just a prayer. Let the Earth be your sanctuary.
To the people, the migrants, the elders who remember, and the youth who will reshape this world—
You are not forgotten. You are the heartbeat of the future.
This Independence Day, we do not celebrate perfection. We honor resilience.
We do not salute oppression. We stand in solidarity.
We do not worship flags. We lift up humanity.
The nation is not just a government. It is the people.
And the people still rise.
Donna
Talking with Donna 