Today is the celebration of an illusionâpower dressed up as patriotism, freedom for the few sold as justice for all. But weâre seeing through the illusion. Real freedom isnât grantedâitâs built, protected, and paid forward.
So before you light a single sparkler, I want you to pause.
Take a deep breath.
And feel it.
The fury.
The heartbreak.
The bone-deep knowing that this country was never designed to protect all of us equally.
The House and Senate have passed the abomination of the budget reconciliation bill. Now it's on the resolute desk for signing.
Itâs a full-on attack.
They arenât just failing usâtheyâre actively funneling funds into harm.
Case in point: the horrifying âAlligator Alcatrazââa militarized immigrant detention center in the swamp lands of Florida.
Yes, itâs realâand yes, they are once again caging humans in torturous conditions.
America has already shamed itself once with Japanese internment camps.
And now?
We are doing it again.
Only this time, itâs broadcast in technicolorâfor our entertainment
And still, too many people look away (or worse, are celebrating).
They say if you donât learn from history, youâre doomed to repeat it.
Well, history is repeating.
But this time, we are watching.
We are remembering.
And we are not going to let it slide.
If you're watching the news and your chest tightens...
If you read that bill and feel like screamingâŠ
You are not overreacting.
You are awake.
And Iâm not here to tell you to calm down.
Iâm here to sayârage is a sacred messenger.
And rage, when rooted in love, becomes a blueprint.
So when someone tells you to âjust stay positiveâ or âfocus on whatâs going rightââŠ
Smile if you mustâbut do not shrink.
Your rage is not a liability. Itâs not too much.
It is proportionate. It is intelligent. It is earned.
Let it be sacred fuel, not something to smother.
If youâre more outraged by this post than the policies themselves, this probably isnât for you.
But if you feel the fire and want to do something with itâwelcome.
Youâre in the right place.
Because hereâs what they donât want you to remember:
We are powerful.
Not in the performative, flag-waving, jackboots kind of way.
But in the real kind of way.
The kind of power that organizes, feeds, funds, and protects.
The kind that reroutes money back into our own hands.
The kind that builds new worlds when the old ones are burning down.
And yes, Iâm talking about money, because we canât talk about justice without talking about economics.
Because the economy is not neutral.
How and where we spend money signals whatâand whoâwe value.
And your profit?
Itâs not selfish.
Itâs not shameful.
Itâs protest.
We need you to be wildly profitable.
So you can create safety for yourself.
So your family isnât one policy away from crisis.
So your community is resourced.
So the causes you believe in arenât starved for funding.
Profit isnât just a number. Itâs a weapon. A shield. A seed.
Every dollar you earn and direct with integrity becomes a lifeline for someone else.
Every business you build that honors care over control is a revolution.
Every time you stop waiting for permission and claim your financial sovereigntyâyouâre tearing a hole in their playbook.
So no, I wonât be wishing you a Happy Independence Day.
Not when so many of our rights are under attack.
However, I will remind you that collective care, community wealth, and sovereign profits are how we win.
This land was never free.
But we are learning to be.
Together.
Revolution doesnât always look like a march.
Sometimes it looks like where you bank.
Who you feed.
What you fund.
This weekend, if you're looking for a way to turn your rage and your grief into grounded actionâstart here:
Move money to the margins.
Find a local abortion fund, mutual aid group, or bail fund and send what you can. $5, $50, or $5,000âit all matters. Especially when it's directed with love and intention.Buy from your values.
Skip the big-box âfreedom salesâ and spend with a queer-owned, Black-owned, or women-led business that aligns with the future you want to see. Circulating money with consciousness is an act of protest.Audit your business for impact.
Look at your pricing, your partners, your spending. Ask: Is my business resourcing the revolutionâor replicating the problem? Small changes = massive ripple effects when we make them collectively.Feed your community.
Deliver groceries to a local food bank or community fridge. Hunger is politicalâbut nourishment is power. Especially when it comes with dignity and no strings attached.
And hereâs what I want to leave you with:
You are not small.
You are not alone.
You are not helpless in the face of their cruelty.
You are part of a living, breathing resistance made up of artists, healers, disruptors, builders, and boundary breakers.
People who are building something betterânot someday, but now.
We arenât waiting to be rescued.
We are resourcing ourselves and each other.
And if you need a breakâif you need to look away for a whileâthatâs okay too.
Sometimes rest is whatâs in your highest and best.
And that, too, is revolutionary.
We are choosing hopeânot as an escape from reality, but as a rebellious commitment to something more just, more beautiful, and more true than anything theyâve ever offered us.
The system is crumbling.
But you? You are rising.
PS: When they gut public services, we redistribute wealth.
When they try to silence us, we fund the fight.
Because Profit is Protestâand so is protecting each other.
đ§ Song of the Day: âLand of the Freeâ by The Killers
đ„ Because they told us this was the land of the freeâbut itâs up to us to make it true.
I come from a complex background - immigrants and colonizers too.
I especially resonate with your statement if this is to be the land of the free - it is up to all of us.
Earlier this week, my husband and I both loved a bumper sticker we saw simultaneously,
âHumankind- Be Bothâ
Yes, be profitable, be kind, create so many ripples that we create a rising tide of true freedom.