The stars are 50 distinct points, spread across a field of blue. They don't touch. They are separate. But they are bound together by the same stripes—the red of hardiness and the white of purity.
That idea was a lie to many at the time (slavery was still legal), and it has required constant, bloody, passionate work to make it true for everyone. But it was the start . It was the North Star. When you watch the fireworks burst in the sky tonight, I want you to listen to the silence right after the boom. Independence Day
That silence is the sound of soldiers not marching down your street. That silence is the sound of a press printing whatever it wants without government approval. That silence is the sound of you getting to live your life—however messy, boring, or beautiful it is—without asking for permission. The stars are 50 distinct points, spread across
Happy Independence Day. May we always be brave enough to defend the silence. But they are bound together by the same
Pull out your phone and read the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence out loud. It is only 242 words. It will take you 90 seconds. It will give you chills.
The Declaration of Independence wasn't just a list of grievances. It was a promise. It was the first time a nation was founded not on bloodlines or conquest, but on an idea : "That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
You are a star. Your neighbor is a star. We don't have to look the same. But tonight, we look up at the same sky and watch the same fireworks.
