All that is Good and Right and Just

Independence Day has long been my favorite holiday. We hosted epic parties and proudly hung the red, white, and blue bunting from the second floor porch. I must have a collection of 100 flags of all sizes that peppered the house and garden.

My parents are naturalized citizens, and I remember them studying for their citizenship test, a test that I bet most of us would not pass. My mother’s oath of citizenship was in our nation’s capital. My own trajectory goes from Indian passport to green card to US passport. 

I carried that American passport with pride, and now I carry it as proof.

Proof that I am American.

Proof that I am not a threat.

Proof that I belong.

And yet, I persist. America is home. I use my voice to protect and defend the very qualities that drew my parents here with two toddlers in two. There are thorns among the roots of this nation so I don’t view life through rose-colored glasses, but I do see promise, potential, and pride. 

A high school English teacher used to give us writing prompts, and one I still employ is journaling a list of 10 things that upset me and 10 things that bring me joy. And while my list of grievances is long and the realities  painful, today I want to share, in no particular order, a list of things that boost my spirits on this 250th birthday of America.

This is what fuels my will to keep fighting for all that is good and right and just.

1. Friends in the resistance. The OG blogging world introduced me to so many warriors who are still engaged in advocacy. I learn from each of them and am inspired by their chorus of voices.
2. Glimmers of establishment politics cracking. Bring. It. On.
3. Gen Z energy. Platitudes aside, I mean it when I say, the kids are alright.
4. Zohran Mamdani. And Annie Andrews.
5. Mothers. The motherhood of resistance is strong. Generations of women before me have carried the torch, and we have to keep the flame burning.
6. My family. We have three generations of Americans looking to the future and lifting up our voices now.
7. Texas. Hear me out. I just moved to San Antonio, and while the politics are wild in this state, the people are rolling up their sleeves. 
8. A posse of friends with no fucks left to give. We’re menopausal and are ready to bring the heat.
9. Resistance itself is patriotic. We are not a nation of complacency. 
10. Courage abounds.