I haven’t been able to post a blog since Daunte Wright was killed. That was overwhelming due to the location of the incident, the response by the officers, and the community it impacted. Just after that, Derek Chauvin was convicted. We honored a year since George Floyd was murdered. Then, the city moved the barricades at George Floyd Square and later that day, Winston Smith was killed. Community gathered and a protestor was killed. I cannot tell you how shaken we all were (and are). She could have been any of us, and mainstream media wasn’t covering any of it. Heck, even body parts have been found around the city. I tried many times to sit down and articulate what it’s been like living in Minneapolis the past year and a half, and I haven’t had the energy.
I know there is a different Minneapolis than what I experience. My friend who lives just blocks away from where Winston Smith and Deona Marie were killed had no idea what was going on. Meanwhile, the folks I interact with know the community that has been out 24/7 and traumatized by watching their friend die through an attack right in front of them. I started showing up to protests years ago out of curiosity. The more I have learned about experiences from folks who have different identities than I have, the more I realized the need to drop my defensiveness and listen. I didn’t understand as much as I thought I did.
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Each of us has a different relationship with the United States. I come from a family of farmers and from German immigrants just before WWII. For my entire childhood, I proudly stood at the flag with my hand over my heart. I worked to memorize the national anthem. I walked up to service folks in uniform and thanked them for their sacrifice to our country. I saw the opportunity this country provided for my family and felt eternally grateful. The more I’ve spoken to others, however, the more I realize this is not what the United States has been to everybody.
So on the Fourth of July, I didn’t plan on posting a picture. I had conflicting feelings that seemed undefined and my plan was to passively enjoy another summer day with friends. However, that morning I was scrolling through old pictures and found a fun one from 2016. Without giving too much thought to it, I shared it to my Instagram with a caption that was more provocative than I realized.
After posting, I switched to check Facebook. The first status that popped up was a friend sharing her memory of her mom’s deportation. She shared the trauma of watching the fireworks celebrate the people who took her mother away from her and that were keeping children locked up away from their families.
I scrolled down.
The next post was another friend of color sharing Frederick Douglass’ What, to a Slave, is the 4th? and explaining why they have never been able to identify with the celebration of the passage of the Declaration of Independence.
I scrolled down.
A post from an organization asked everybody to wear orange in honor of the native burial sites that have been found all over the country (and in Canada). The intention was to recognize the millions who were killed when colonizers came to (what is now) the United States, and the ongoing crisis of missing Native women.
I scrolled down.
A post honoring our veterans for fighting for freedom, the first red white and blue I saw all morning, and a celebrative “Happy Fourth” gif. The contrast between the posts was too much and I closed my phone as I tried to process how these different sentiments could all coexist.
I have always said I’m thankful to be an American. I see the riches, the rights, and the opportunity it’s offered my family and me. However, it would be a great disservice to not also acknowledge how damaging this country has been to others. We have to realize that what this country has offered to some, it has taken away from others. I critique it because I believe it can be better, and I celebrate that hope and opportunity every day.
Our Black neighbors who didn’t get the choice to come here are still fighting to feel safe and free living in the United States. Our Latinx neighbors feel the discrimination and see the disregard for the life of people who look like them with the way we question their status and treat folks in immigration facilities. I almost feel like I can’t call Native folks “neighbor” considering the ways they had their land taken and families wiped out. Their women are still going missing at alarming rates.
So on the fourth, it’s hard to focus solely on the joy of independence, because July 4th, 1776, was not a joyful day for everyone. In fact, the Declaration of Independence even called Native folks “merciless savages,” many of whom sided with the British in the Revolution in hopes that if England won, they would be able to keep their land.
We fought hard in the Revolution for our independence and to ensure taxation with proper representation. We survived a civil war that promised freedom for all. We engaged in international battles to promote the liberty and democracy that we strive for.
We aren’t there yet.
My Instagram post got comments criticizing my disregard for finding balance, the lack of celebration, and my disinterest in bridge building. They were hard to read because I do celebrate everything I have. I am beyond grateful for the opportunities this country has offered me. I also live, work, talk, and hang out with people who have not had those experiences. I, myself, have been met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and threats of arrest for simply being at a memorial (no curfew was in place, nobody was in the streets, no music was blaring, we were simply grieving together). When I criticize blind patriotism, it’s because I’ve seen how harmful it can be. When I post “one-sided content” it is in balance with the 20+ years I spent “on the other side.” On Instagram, I see my predominantly 20-something-year old followers and call for more engagement. Through this blog, I see my Christian followers and call on our belief in real justice (something not limited to any system humankind can set up). We can’t take it personally when a country we identify with is proven to have flaws (our allegiance shouldn’t even be with any flag). The God I believe in set the model of hanging out with the most marginalized – those experiencing poverty, the foreigners, the oppressed …
Many of you subscribed to this blog when I was going abroad to fight for justice. I’m asking you now to stick with me. We can’t call out the spec in our neighbor’s eye without checking the plank in our own. The Fourth of July hasn’t been a promise of freedom for all. I hope that when we see people choosing not to identify with the holiday, we understand the pain it is rooted in. It comes from feeling excluded and excused from the freedom and opportunity I (and maybe you) have felt living here. I don’t believe we can discredit those feelings. We cannot get angry about what we can’t understand. What we can do is listen to the most marginalized and understand the full extent of our country’s history including the the genocide of the Native Americans, the history of Juneteenth, the reality of what is happening at the border …
Our country has provided many of us with a lot to be thankful for. And, if we truly want to be a country that represents all of its people (and followers of Christ who show God’s love to all), we need to recognize that for as far as we’ve come, we still have a ways to go.
💕💕💕🙏🙏🙏Stay safe!!
Well said.
Well written Alissa. Many of us, because of our life experiences, have truly not been aware of the many injustices you cited. Our education has left out the “bad” stuff. It is time for our history to be rewritten–not to “cancel the culture” but to have as the base of our new culture TRUTH. True patriots desire to learn the truth so we can support the rectification of the wrongs so many have endured. That should be our goal. It will take time and patience and we all need to work together in what ever way we can–if only by being open-minded and willing to listen to and to accept the TRUTH we were not taught. Continue on your mission, but acknowledge that many good people have not known the truth. You must be willing to hear of other’s experiences. They may have had experiences you haven’t known which will open your mind to their untold stories. Patience is a virtue very difficult to practice as we both know. But remember: TRUTH WILL SET US FREE. Oma
There is no longer a reason for ignorance or to use ignorance as an excuse. The time is now!
Love you!