By Daniel Paiz

On this fourth of July in the year 2026 it feels necessary to share some words on the 250th anniversary of the red, white, and blue. There are some things that should not be taken for granted, one of them being the freedom to still share words like this. Writing is a form of processing life, and here are some thoughts on this land of 50 places put together as one.

4th July

We are to celebrate the empire,

The three pillars they choose,

The colors you know as

Red, white, and blue.

Tales of foreigners claiming this land,

Raking away what was,

And claiming they built new foundations,

Followed by eradication, 

Lying, and more,

Telling folks where to drink 

And use those backdoors,

Build how folks get around,

Harass, and kill them too,

Claim their violent ways absolve them,

Of agreements they were never

Going to follow through.

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Somehow schools are to be protected, but how dare they teach the truth,

Simply because you can’t explain what people went through, 

What people would do,

To the grandparents and parents of people that you knew,

No you didn’t do it,

But you don’t see value in recognizing

the terror and trauma through generations it’s leaked through? 

250 opportunities to learn from 

Previous evils and harmed families and youths,

Instead you wanna drown your insecurities

and scarf down attempts of what used to be food,

This isn’t a lecture,

It’s a reminder to me and you,

If you actually love the land you stand on,

You’d realize celebrating monstrosities 

Must stop, and justice must be renewed. 

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That’s not to say bullets and weapons

are to be handled to reach such truths,

But to first accept

there’s internal fragments you’ve hidden,

You want change inside you?

First rehab those scarred insides,

You ignore, 

To repay ancestral dues