Independence Day Downers Can't Drown Out Grateful Celebrators

I hope everyone had an amazing Independence Day. It’s a blessing to be on the inside looking around at the United States of America. It’s also a shame that many use this day to air grievances about the nation they call home and from which they greatly benefit.

On Friday, I decided to take some time and go live on my second YouTube channel, Adrienne Ross Squared. I didn’t spend hours in the live chat with subscribers; people often have things to do on this day. My desire was to do a live reading of the Declaration of Independence, and that is what I did. That is what we did. There were numerous comments of gratitude and even a story from someone who emigrated legally to the country.

Those exchanges were special because I had already been subjected to the negativity that always seems to find its way forward in recent years: “Oh, it’s the Fourth of July! Cue the people waiting in the wings to complain about how horrible America is.” I shake my head as people whine about the nation while they live the nation’s dream and advocate for those who enter the nation illegally to remain here—hypocrites at worse, they are. At best, they’re disingenuous. Confused is somewhere in the middle.