07/04/2025
I love fireworks...
As a kid, the Fourth of July was probably my favorite holiday. It didn’t come with presents or piles of sweets, but it was the day we got to set off fireworks, and I was all about it.
We could never wait for the fourth. The moment we got back from the fireworks stand earlier in the week, we’d start lighting little firecrackers and smoke bombs. But we always saved the good stuff for the big day.
When July 4 finally arrived, it was go time! The occasional bangs and flashes built up throughout the day into a steady roar, reaching a crescendo by early evening (just in time to head out and watch a real show). It was pure childhood bliss. I’m sure we had barbecue, played yard games, and launched a few water balloons, but what I remember most are the fireworks.
Years later (with all my fingers thankfully intact), I still love the fireworks, but the day means more to me now, and I find myself reflecting on what it means to be American.
We are a nation built on the idea that freedom is not reserved for the few, but extended to all.
There’s a poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty (a monument to our independence) that captures that idea better than any I know:
The New Colossus
by Emma Lazarus, 1883
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
These words aren’t in the Constitution. They’re not part of any law. But when I think about why I’m proud to be an American, these are the words that come first to mind. They remind me that our strength has always come from empathy, from our willingness to welcome, to include, and to grow.
I’m proud to live in a country where progress is possible, where voices once silenced have found power, and where the meaning of we the people continues to expand.
We still have work to do. But on this day, I’m celebrating the ideals that unite us, and the shared hope that our best chapters are still being written.
Wishing you a joyful and meaningful Independence Day,
Noah
