The 4th of July has historically been a day for fireworks shows, socializing with friends and family, and enjoying the freedoms we have. The 4th of July for 2020 was a day we were required to wear masks, social distance, keep our gatherings to a limited amount of people, and acknowledge the barriers that are currently prohibiting our freedoms. It’s safe to say that July 4th, 2020 was unlike any other July 4th that has come before.
The holiday came at a time of nation-wide uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, financial struggles and social injustice. We have been living in a year of concern, protesting, and scrutiny, however, our country has gained so much awareness in such a short amount of time.
For me, the 4th of July has always meant heading to my hometown, visiting my family, sitting at the same corner to watch the 3rd of July parade, eating Godfathers Pizza for supper on the 4th of July, ending the night with watching the fireworks with my family and spending the night at my grandparents’ home- very much so a community event. I had a difficult time remaining home, having small fireworks in my backyard, and heading to bed. No parade, no Godfathers Pizza. It was hard to accept that the community event of the 4th of July was no longer.
It is important to recognize the level of camaraderie our world has put into place despite some of our favorite things getting cancelled. Though many Americans interpret the 4th of July to be about individual freedoms and the freedom of the country, the pandemic and protests force a different sort of celebration.
Over the past few months, we’ve been continuously reminded how dependent we are on our neighbors for our health and for our livelihoods, so acknowledging how connected we truly are remains important.
Perhaps for the first time in our lives, we may need to pause to think about how the lens we are looking through could shift to gain a better understanding of what America is, and what that means to us.
This all makes for quite the unusual 4th of July.