America Is Easy if You Just Don't Think About It
A hypothetical conversation on the Fourth of July.
“Do you ever think about the Native Americans, the idea that their land was stolen?”
“Who knows. That was a long time ago.”
“Do you ever think about slavery?”
“Well obviously we don’t have slaves anymore and I’m not going to feel guilty for something that happened when I wasn’t even born.”
“But I keep reading that we still have systems built on white supremacy. And I keep reading about generational wealth versus how hard it is when a person is born into poverty. I read an article the other day about something called a living wage.”
“Jesus man, you’re such a downer. My grandparents worked hard and my parents worked hard and I work hard. We’ve earned everything that’s ours. Let’s just drink some beers today and celebrate. We live in the greatest country on Earth! Freedom, baby.”
“But what does that even mean? Greatest based on what? And if today is about celebrating freedom, shouldn’t that freedom apply to everyone? It seems like maybe this place is only great and free if you’re white and straight and christian.”
“I’m not going to apologize for being white and straight and christian.”
“I’m not asking you to. I’m just saying, is it weird to celebrate freedom when some people are left out? I’m glad we live here and I know there is a lot that’s good but I can’t help but think about people who have a different experience from ours. Like if you’re a kid in school and you might be gay or trans—in Florida now you can’t even talk about those things, and they don’t even teach actual history anymore because they don’t want anyone to feel bad.”
“Dude. Who fucking cares. I don’t pay attention to politics. They’re all a bunch of crooks.”
“I don’t love politics either but it seems like, if gun violence is now the number one killer of children, we should pay attention to stuff like that. And if a kid can handle active shooter drills, maybe that kid can also handle learning about slavery and the fact that gay people exist.”
“My dad always says that a good guy with a gun stops a bad guy with a gun. He says the Democrats want to take away all guns. Also, they’re trying to turn kids gay and trans.”
“I don’t think any of those things are true.”
“I’m just sick of people who are woke.”
“But what does woke even mean? I believe it originally meant paying attention.”
(silence)
“It seems like a word people now use whenever they don’t like something, or when they don’t care about something that other people do care about.”
“The Fourth is my favorite holiday and I’m not going to let you ruin it.”
“I’m not trying to ruin it. I’m just sharing some questions about how I feel conflicted, because this holiday can be confusing. It seems like—I don’t know—maybe good stuff to think about and talk about.”
“Let’s go get some beers. Anything except fucking Bud Light. You think too much. America is easy if you just don’t think about it.”
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Powerful. And as the first sentence says... hypothetical, but also I hope a conversation that has really happened around the US too. I usually wish my US friends a Happy 4th of July but with all if the anti LGBTQ+ legislation and campaigning there has been in some states it just felt wrong as a trans person to wish a happy holiday to people whose country wants to make it illegal for people like me to exist.
Also, is that the photograph that was used for the cover of If You Feel Too Much? That book lives on my nightstand.
I’ve been reading a book lately called “Running while black”. Libraries still exist and it was out on display and I love running so I picked it up. It turned my world upside down and when my wife said to me “ I thought the 4th was your favorite holiday” I replied “ Maybe not as much anymore”. Don’t mix that up with regretting where I live. But it is hard to celebrate when others aren’t. This isn’t a game where you love seeing rivals lose and you can cheer. This is about lives and living in places where if you pay enough attention the chances aren’t the same. It’s hard to admit that when you are someone who didn’t have the obstacles. You want to believe it was work, endurance, earned etc. And in some ways it was. But it also was easier because you had a lot of open doors open that others have closed. You didn’t notice because you were already through the door and you hadn’t looked back. This post couldn’t have been easy to write but I applaud you for asking the questions. We don’t always agree and yeah sometimes it’s easier to lay low and not think. But I appreciate you keep asking. It’s ok to be happy for the freedom today if you feel you have it while still striving hard to make sure others join you. Thanks Jamie for writing!