Sara Sandstrom-Kobi, Peak to Peak. The Fourth of July! Independence Day! For many people, the image of parades, flags waving, fireworks, picnics with hot dogs and red and blue Jell-O desserts come to mind. A day of festivities to celebrate the United States of America. The land of the free and the brave, right? 

Now that you are sitting up a little straighter with pride for this country, I want to share a little history of the day and challenge you. Pull back the sheer but stiff curtain of the beginnings of this country.

Do not get me wrong, I like a good picnic and parade. I have marched with my saxophone in plenty of parades from middle school through high school in the most polyester of band uniforms and tall fuzzy hats in the summer’s unforgiving heat and humidity. However, there is always room for more understanding and less ignorance. 

When I was teaching US history at the middle and high school level, many students were shocked to learn that the United States did not become a country on July 4, 1776. 

There were thirteen colonies that were controlled by the British Empire, arguably the most powerful empire of that time. The British exploited these colonies, like they did to so many others, for their resources. The British were the ones acquiring the most wealth at the expense of the American Colonists. For years the colonists put up with the situation. At times there were discussions and tension from the colonists about how the British were treating them. The colonists did not feel listened to by King George III or the British Parliament. The colonists believed that the British only saw them as unintelligent farmers with pitch forks. 

The British were in great debt by the mid-1700s. So, they passed additional laws imposing more British rule and taxes on the American Colonies to pay for the debt and keep the colonists subdued. All this to keep their way of life the way they wanted it.  

With tensions and anger building, many colonists reached the point of saying, “No more.” Protests and demonstrations were planned and carried out. Some colonists even dared to disguise themselves as the “trouble-makers of society” and dump over 90,000 pounds of tea owned by the British East India Company into Boston Harbor in December 1773. This gave a substantial financial blow to the British, mocked the British obsession with tea and sent a clear message: things have to change. 

Armed conflicts started to occur between colonists and the British, but all in the context of just wanting more rights within the British Empire. Then, talk of independence started. A radical notion for the era, especially against the mighty British Empire. The Continental Congress formed with representatives from all the colonies. Let me clarify, white male representatives from each colony. People were hearing phrases like independence is a “natural right.” Let me clarify, this natural right was only for white males. 

Then, the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 2, 1776, and ratified on July 4, 1776. To ratify means to become official. The colonists were saying, “We want independence.” The British had another idea. The United States did not become the United States of America that day. There were seven more grueling years of war. The United States was not an independent nation until the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, when the Revolutionary War officially ended. 

Because of the end result, it probably does not matter if we celebrate in July or September but let us understand the importance of both days and use the correct vocabulary when describing them. 

It is 1783 and the newly formed United States of America is free from British rule. Shouts of liberty, all created equal and justice fill the streets. Let me clarify, those words were only meant for white men. 

On July 5, 1852, former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass spoke about how the Fourth of July is a day that brings out “the gross injustice and cruelty” of this nation. 

There are too many people in this country that still feel the hypocrisy of the words of the Founding Fathers. There are too many people who feel the injustice and cruelty placed on them by systematic racism and sexism in these the United States of America. In my mind, too many means any one person.

This year, 2020, marks the 244th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Isn’t it time we admit the disparity between the words and reality? It is not a time to get defensive. It is time to see the hate and why it is there. It is time to see your privilege if you have it. It is time to see the beauty of all colors, religions and lifestyles. 

Let this Fourth of July, the year 2020, be the year that we see and have a clearer vision of the systematic injustices and inequalities in this country. Celebrate moving to a place of true equality. We are not the Divided States of America. We are the United States of America. Let’s learn what it is to be United and celebrate it.

(Originally published in the July 2, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)