Now That the Fireworks Are Over, Remember You Woke Up Free
Grateful. Proud. Responsible.
“The freedoms we wake up with are not guaranteed simply because they were passed down to us. They survive only when each generation understands their value.”
There is no more American way to celebrate independence than eating hot dogs by the millions, lighting the sky with fireworks, and calling it patriotism. Every Fourth of July, Americans eat roughly 150 million hot dogs, which is enough to stretch from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles more than 5 times! It is funny, excessive, and somehow fitting.
But now that the fireworks have faded and the celebrations have ended, the Fourth of July should still leave us with something more than leftovers and red, white, and blue decorations. As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, it should serve as a reminder that this country, even with all its flaws, is still worth celebrating. Being a citizen of the United States of America is something to be proud of, not embarrassed by.
If you were born in the United States, luck was already in your favor. We enjoy freedoms and opportunities that people all around the world dream about. We can speak freely, worship freely, vote, protest, build businesses, pursue careers, criticize our leaders, and shape our own futures in ways that are not guaranteed everywhere else.
Despite this, especially after elections, people talk about abandoning the country the moment politics gets frustrating, although most don’t end up doing so. That says something. For all the anger, division, and disappointment people may feel, there is still no place like the United States.
And trust me, I know our politics give us plenty to make fun of- from heated exchanges in congressional hearings to out-of-touch TikToks from politicians. But bitterness is not wisdom. Detachment is not sophistication. Constantly criticizing our nation without feeling any responsibility toward it does not make someone brave. It disconnects them from the very place that gives them the freedom to speak, believe, work, protest, vote, and build a life.
Celebrating our nation does not mean pretending it is perfect. It never has been. But part of the miracle of America is that we have continued striving toward our own ideals- toward a more perfect union. The American experiment is still young! Two hundred and fifty years may sound old, but in historical terms, it is still very young. What makes America remarkable is not that it has always gotten everything right, but that it has continued striving toward something better.
America has faced divisions far greater than the ones we experience today. A Civil War once tested whether our nation would survive at all. Over time, we expanded civil rights and voting rights to people once excluded from the promise of our founding. We have failed, fought, corrected, grown, but always kept going!
That history should not make us embarrassed to love America. It should make us understand how rare it is to live in a country capable of admitting its failures and believing it can become better.
President Ronald Reagan once warned that freedom is “never more than one generation away from extinction.” That warning is not just about military threats or political battles. It is a reminder that the freedoms we wake up with are not guaranteed simply because they were passed down to us. They survive only when each generation understands their value.
Responsible patriotism is how we answer that warning. It is not just waving a flag one day a year. It is learning our history honestly, it is respecting the people who serve and sacrifice, and recognizing that America’s ideals only survive when citizens care enough to protect them. It is choosing gratitude without becoming naive, and choosing criticism without becoming bitter.
That also means remembering the sacrifices that made our lives possible. The Founding Fathers risked their lives, reputations, and futures to declare independence and build a nation on an idea with all odds against them. Every day, men and women serve in uniform to protect freedoms many of us barely pause to appreciate. Many of our grandparents and earlier generations left behind homes, languages, communities, and everything familiar for the chance to build a better life here. We wake up and go about our daily lives and forget what a miracle that is.
I am not saying that everyone needs to hang an American flag in their bedroom or make patriotism their personality. Patriotism does not have to be loud to be real. But we should be proud. We should be grateful. And we should stop treating love of country like something outdated or embarrassing.
The FIFA World Cup offers a reminder of this in real time. Over the past couple of weeks, people from around the world are traveling to the United States, filling our cities, cheering in our stadiums, and experiencing the country so many of us take for granted. Sometimes it takes seeing America through someone else’s eyes to remember how blessed we are to call it home.
President John F. Kennedy challenged Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” More than 60 years later, the challenge still stands.
America at 250 should not only be a celebration of what came before us, but a challenge to us now.
The fireworks may be over, the hot dogs may be eaten, and the long weekend may have passed. But the responsibility of citizenship does not end when the celebration does.
“America is not perfect. But it is ours to cherish, protect, and improve.”