THE FOURTH OF JULY IN 2025
The Fourth of July is a national holiday when people in the United States celebrate the July 4, 1776 declaration to defy King George III of Great Britain and become a new nation rather than remain a British colony. At the heart of that declaration was the conviction that the British monarchy was oppressive, unjust, and undemocratic.
Two Hundred Forty-Nine (249) years later, the regime led by U.S. President Donald Trump deserves the same judgment. Trump’s regime is oppressive. Trump and his followers do not respect the rule of law. They demand absolute loyalty to Trump, not the Constitution of the United States.
The Trump administration does not respect freedom of speech, thought, or association. It demands blind allegiance to Trump’s authoritarianism, bigotry, white supremacy, racism, sexism, heteronormative ideology, nationalism, gangster capitalism, belligerent imperialism, and uncritical belief about historical inequities.
We are not supposed to protest injustice.
We are not supposed to denounce bigotry.
We are not supposed to question right-wing policies and practices.
We are not supposed to stand up for immigrants, women and girls, Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, workers, LGBTQIA people, Palestinians, and Muslims.
The Trump administration does not respect freedom of the press.
The Trump administration wants everyone to tolerate (or praise) abuse, violence, and terrorizing actions by ICE and other federal law enforcement agents. When peaceful protestors in Los Angeles, California confronted ICE agents who were terrorizing immigrants last month, Trump nationalized the California National Guard and ordered U.S. Marines to stand against them.
That was like King George III, who ordered British Redcoats to deploy against freedom-minded people in the American colonies before the first Fourth of July. California, New York, Illinois, and other “blue” states are not colonies. They are sovereign states.
And the Trump administration wants federal judges to ignore the Constitution and federal law. Instead, Trump wants his executive orders and policies to be the supreme law of the land. He threatens to arrest federal judges, state judges, and state and local officials who challenge his orders and policies. He withholds congressionally appropriated funds from institutions that practice diversity, inclusion, and equity.
249 years ago the Founders of the United States pledged their lives, fortunes, and honor to defy King George III. Now, Republicans in the U.S. Congress seem afraid to defy President Trump. They are more loyal to Trump than to the people who voted them into office.
This Fourth of July, the United States does not need another Declaration of Independence. We need people throughout the nation and from all backgrounds and stations to stand up for liberty, justice, and democracy and defy Trump’s authoritarianism.
That requires protests, not parades. Standing up for freedom, justice, and democracy and fighting fascism demands a lot more - in 2025 and always - than grilling food, holding pool parties, barbecues, and being spectators during fireworks shows.
This Fourth of July, the big question is whether - and to what extent - we are willing to stand up for freedom, justice, and democracy and defy Donald Trump’s authoritarianism. If we are not, our Fourth of July activities in 2025 will not honor the courage, devotion, and sacrifice that transformed former British colonies into the United States of America. Our activities will mock the Founders. And those who come after us will say so.