I am feeling mixed feelings today.
We celebrate freedom from the British today because we took freedom away from Native Americans.
Normally, I love the 4th of July.
It symbolizes freedom, fun, time with family and loved ones, good food, but how often do we think about what it really means?
This is the first time I took a moment to let it soak in.
Maybe because I have been doing so much soul searching and I have been looking at all the lies that have been told to us.
Everyone loves a day off. But what does the 4th of July mean?
In the history books, (they gave us in grade school), they say that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America in 1492.
They lied to us.
It was discovered before by Native Americans.
The United States didn’t begin because of a “discovery.”
It began from abuse of power.
Europeans believed in Manifest Destiny.
They believed that the more land they possessed, the more powerful they were.
They didn’t care if other people already lived here.
They wanted it for themselves.
Native Americans were not respected because of their race.
Because they were dark-skinned, spoke a different language, and were not Christian, they were seen as inferior.
Our country was created by abuse of power and racism.