Op-Ed: Dear Latinos: Let’s Celebrate This 4th of July for The Right Reasons
In more normal times, the 4th of July is a joyous occasion to gather with family, friends, and neighbors to celebrate America’s founding. On that historic day in 1776, the founders declared independence and promised that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were unalienable rights for all mankind.
But these are not normal times. Two hundred forty-nine years later, Latinos in particular feel that those original promises are broken.
Just look at the first six months of the second Trump Administration: ICE raids in Latino neighborhoods, the President’s alienating rhetoric, and his efforts to repeal birthright citizenship. This administration created an environment of such anti-immigrant toxicity, one can hardly fault Latinos for wanting to skip this year’s festivities. How can you enjoy a fireworks show or feel patriotic pride when you know the President does not want you here?
I have a humble suggestion: celebrate America anyway.
We should celebrate America for the vision of what it could be. As descendants of immigrants, we have a unique view into that vision. Our parents looked to the U.S. as the land of opportunity. All first-generation Latinos grew up hearing their folks’ migration story, with all the life-and-death risks it involved. And why they traveled North anyway: because of their belief in the idea of America.
Celebrating the America our parents dreamt of honors their sacrifice and hard work.
We should celebrate America because it turns out that our parents were right about it! Unlike many of our generational peers, children of immigrants are much more likely to “surpass their parents and move up the economic ladder”. Low-income first-generation Latinos are consistently reaching the middle class and attending college at higher rates than their peers born to American parents. We achieve the American Dream, regardless of who the President is.
Finally, we should celebrate America this year because, as the first Americans of our families, we cannot cede it to those who so clearly fail to understand it.
America is not found in crude political tweets, in cruelty to fellow human beings, or in fragile displays of patriotic bravado. America is found in its people and their everlasting journey for a brighter future.
The America of George Washington is found today in the people who resist tyranny and protect their neighbors. The America of Abraham Lincoln is reflected in people who do the right thing, even when it’s hard or politically disadvantageous. Immigrants who believe in the country so deeply, and their children who work so hard. That is America.
That is an America worth celebrating this year. For the Latinos who feel hopeless about America today, let’s cherish it as deeply as our parents do so that our children can inherit a better America tomorrow.
Abram Diaz is a Chief of Staff in the California State Assembly and a lecturer on politics at American River College. He previously served as chair of the California Latino Capitol Association, a group dedicated to growing Latino representation in California politics.
