My America is a blend of hard labor and kickback ease, peppered with a wide array of choices for an even wider array of people. My America is open to new ideas and change, although elders are still sought out for their grounded wisdom. My America supports public educators to do what they have been trained to do, with all the books at their disposal. My America isn’t afraid to give a helping hand to those who have fallen down, who have been held down, who have gotten lost or who have arrived from a nightmare. My America is only as strong as the weakest link, therefore we forge bonds to shore up the fragile among us. My America would ask everyone to pay taxes even if they are clever enough not to because we really need that level of support to provide a stable infrastructure for this great nation. My America would cancel military weapons from the hands of all these crazy white guys who are misguided into believing they are saviors. I know there is plenty I don’t understand about how this whole world spins but in My America I would stop believing the long list of lies that some people can’t resist telling us.

Oh my this country, this United States of America, that you and I both love so very much, especially on this national holiday, when townsfolk from one coast to another spread blankets and wait until dusk for skies lit with electrifying fireworks. All our collective gazes lift up, our voices in unison exclaiming ahhhhs and ohhhhs with each boom. My America is not a Christian-Only-Domain but is secular and broad to include all those who have participated in our fabulous melting pot. Would you really want to forgo all that awesomeness to exclude what we have gained? Perhaps you would, but My America does not. I love the neighborhoods that celebrate differently than I do, who teach me to value what I have not understood, who feed me with spice and heat and a spirit yet untasted.

In my classroom we talked a bunch about misinformation. We looked at teenager hours clocked on social media sites and how lonely it made them feel, but just as importantly, the ease in which the videos populating their feeds are altered. 14 year olds are quite savvy about the lies they are being fed, far more than their parents and grandparents who are scrolling Facebook, but they aren’t voting and aren’t listened to news either. But My America would red flag what one sees on social media for the manipulated deception it is.

In my America, food shelves would be filled regularly by all of us, providing those who have food insecurity with sustenance for themselves and their family. How about if this July we each reach out to help someone? We might offer jobs or housing or education to those in need too. Because, and I know I have said this before, “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link“(Wiktionary). It’s not about being the tough guy that will impress but it is about empathy and compassion, it is what My America stands for when we shine bright.

Emma Lazarus, a Jewish poet, summed up everything we must remember as we stay the course of Our America in her iconic sonnet, “The New Colossus.”

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Cheers America! Let’s celebrate the best you have to offer each and everyone one of us, and let’s all promise to grant each other the very best for our collective future.

***Photos by the most spectacular Mj Bouvier