Fourth of July 2021

By the 1770s, the British monarchy was finding it increasingly difficult to collect taxes from rebellious colonists thousands of miles across the ocean who had no representation in Parliament. Colonial militia skirmishes with British soldiers escalated until, on April 19, 1775, someone fired “the shot heard around the world’’ in Lexington, MA. 

So began an all-out war with the highest imaginable stakes: the autonomy of a people whose voice in governing had long been stifled. The American Revolution was a fight for the voice of a people who, on July 4, 1776, declared themselves a democratic republic determined to protect that voice for generations to come.

Today, as we witness political leaders work to destroy democracy and silence the peoples’ voice, we must remember that free and fair elections are the cornerstone of democracy. Members of the Republican Party continue to erode that cornerstone by proposing and passing voter-suppression bills in Arizona and forty-seven other states.

Key figures in the Republican Party continue to promote lies and conspiracy theories regarding the 2020 election’s outcome. Media entities like OAN, and the QAnon conspiracy, promote the idea that Democrats should be killed, threatening the very foundation upon which they claim to stand. 

As Democrats, we must work every day to combat the right wing’s lies, and call out the Republican leaders who continue to tread this path of insanity. The more of us there are to unite against these individuals, the stronger our entire nation will become.

We have the chance to celebrate the Fourth in person this year, thanks to President Biden’s commitment to distributing COVID vaccinations and promoting public-health awareness. While we can finally celebrate with friends and family, we must remember that next year, democracy will be on the ballot again, at the very top of the ticket. In 2022, all of our voices must be heard, and we must take responsibility to uplift those communities who are continually denied the right to their voice.  

Please have a joyful, safe Fourth of July. We can’t wait to see you at HQ when we re-open on July 2!

-Bonnie Heidler