What I’m Celebrating this Fourth of July
With our elected officials having just given the green light for slashing health care while handing the wealthy tax breaks, with masked agents kidnapping individuals off our streets and forcing them into unmarked vehicles, with a concentration camp newly built in Florida, I was hesitant to wish folks a Happy Fourth of July as the holiday approached this year. It was as though I was asking myself “What’s there to celebrate?”
Then last night I met some neighbors from the building next door when our respective dogs wanted to say hello. Our paths hadn’t crossed before. We got to talking while Rex and Jimmy sniffed each other and wagged their tails.
After making some small talk I learned that while the couple is originally from Turkey, they’ve lived in four countries. “We like it here best,” the man said.
“Why?” I asked, as I untangled the dogs’ leashes for the umpteenth time.
They explained that immigration, assimilation, and economic opportunities are harder in the other places they’ve lived. I got the sense that they feel free to be themselves here—or at least more free than anywhere else. Liberty and equality: the very ideals we celebrate on the Fourth of July.
Today I remembered that millions of Americans attended “No Kings” rallies around the country just a few short weeks ago. They carried signs reading things like, “This is the government our founders warned us about,” “Resist like it’s 1938 Germany,” “Remember your ancestors were immigrants too,” and “Oh, Canada. We’re so sorry.” Here’s one of my favorites: “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world wins.”
Resilience teaches us to embrace all of what is here. As a highly sensitive person I can’t not notice what is happening and I can’t not feel sad and weary at times. Yet I can also celebrate. I celebrate a land where we still have the right to hold pithy signs at rallies. I celebrate coming together in small and large groups, aligning our hearts and minds, and speaking truth to power. I celebrate the unprecedented creativity and potential and dedication of these magnificent, huddled masses yearning to breathe free. I celebrate the many small and large acts of kindness that continue to emerge amongst these amber waves of grain and purple mountain majesties. I celebrate “We the People.”
Yes, much remains to be done, and it won’t be easy. But I want America to live up to its promises. I want America to reach its fullest, finest potential. I want a land of the free.
Today I celebrate a country where I meet new neighbors on a humid summer night, immigrant neighbors who enrich me with their friendliness, their presence, their broad experience that helps me appreciate when I’ve taken for granted for most of my 62 years.
As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr said with fewer than 24 hours to live, “We’ve got to give ourselves to the struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point. We’ve got to see it through. Either we go up together, or we go down together.” Let’s harness the power of love, together, so the world can win.
Thank you for reading. And Happy Fourth of July.
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WHAT’S NEXT
MUCH MORE TO COME! I’m in the final stages of completing my next book, on resilience following trauma. In coming Substack posts, I’ll provide previews and share a series of conversations I’ve had with trauma survivors on how they reclaimed their resilience.
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Tom Glaser is a master’s-level licensed psychologist with more than 38 years of professional experience. Following years of childhood trauma, his own journey toward resilience inspired him to specialize in working with trauma survivor clients. As a longtime student and teacher of yoga and meditation, the mind-body connection informs his teaching and psychotherapy practices. He has appeared on more than 100 podcasts promoting happiness and resilience. Tom’s first book, Full Heart Living: Conversations with the Happiest People I Know, was an Amazon bestseller that gave rise to a live performance piece and documentary. He and his husband split their time between Minneapolis and Palm Springs.
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Thank you, Tom. I needed to read this today 💙