Hope you had a great Fourth of July, America. But let’s get real.

Everyone loves a good party. Fireworks, hot dogs, beer, pool floats. I hope you had yours. But before you wrapped yourself in an American flag and shotgunned a Coors Light, I hope you took a little reality check.

Independence Day is supposed to celebrate freedom and self-reliance — the ultimate ‘own your shit’ holiday. But many Americans haven’t owned anything except their excuses in decades. We rarely take self inventory in the mirror. We don’t inspect our own homes and properties. We don’t check-in on our neighbors and neighborhoods. We sure as hell don’t check our cities or our country. Generally speaking, we tend to just slap on a bumper sticker, scream about ‘freedom,’ and then go right back to bitching about HOA fees and gas prices on social media.

The truth? America isn’t the greatest country in the world anymore. And no, it’s not because of one president, or one party, or one law (and no, Im not saying this because I’m “anti-America” either). It’s because we’ve spent decades rewarding mediocrity. We’ve built entire systems that reward you for hiding, for doing the bare minimum, for shutting up and collecting your check. We’ve turned government offices into museums of inefficiency. We’ve let community decay become the norm because no one wants to rock the boat. Not enough people want to be uncomfortable.

It’s death by a thousand paper cuts. It’s a cultural cancer of ‘just get by’ thinking. And it starts with each of us refusing to audit ourselves.

When was the last time you really took inventory? Not just ‘am I a good person?’ but — is my house in order? Is my family taken care of? Am I helping my neighborhood? Am I showing up for my city? Do I even know what my local government is doing? Do I understand the systems I love to rant about online? Probably not. Because it’s easier to just slap a ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ or ‘Love Wins’ sticker on your car and call it a day.  

And while we’re at it — let’s address this dogshit logic about unamerican flags and ‘go back to your country.’

I’m an immigrant. My mom is Australian, my dad is Canadian, I’m American, and my wife is Mexican. When I wave a Canadian flag, I honor my father and his family. When I wave an Australian flag, I honor my mother and her family. When I wave an American flag, I honor the place I chose and the place I live with my family.

Waving a flag is the most American shit you can do. Don’t confuse that with ‘waving an American flag is the most American shit you can do.’ No — in this country, we are afforded the right to wave whatever flag we want. Just because someone waves a Mexican or Syrian or Russian flag on Monday doesn’t mean they don’t wave the American flag Tuesday through Sunday. Stop thinking you know what’s going on. Stop seeing something and immediately labeling someone. Stop turning your own feelings into someone else’s identity. You’re not irritated because they did something wrong — you’re irritated because you can’t handle your own reaction. Your feelings are yours; they aren’t who that person/people is/are.

Here’s the reality: You have the freedom to wave your flag. I have the freedom to wave mine. You also have the freedom to shut the f*ck up and mind your own business.

And spare me the ‘if you don’t like it, leave’ line. You complain each and every day. You complian about your wife to your buddies, about your boss to your family, about your love handles in the mirror. You bitched about taxes, the weather, your friends, your car, your bills — but the second someone says America isn’t the greatest country on earth anymore, you had a meltdown and wanted to deport them.

So, ready for real feedback time?  You’re a hypocrite. If complaining means you have to leave, then you better pack your shit first.

America is still beautiful and amazing. The people, the landscapes, the grit, the spirit — it’s all there. But we’d be living in delusion if we didn’t acknowledge that it’s slipping. Because we’ve stopped demanding excellence from ourselves and each other. We’ve stopped taking responsibility. We’ve stopped giving a shit beyond our next Amazon package (happy Prime Day today, by the way Ha!).

This Fourth of July weekend, I wasn’t saying don’t celebrate. I was saying earn your celebration. Audit yourself. Audit your house. Audit your neighborhood. Audit your country. Own the parts that suck and fix them. That’s what real independence is about — not just the right to bitch, but the responsibility to stop bitching and then actually go build.

If you didn’t do it last weekend, there’s no better time than right now. I’ll still be right there with you, beer in hand, raising a toast to an America that could still be the greatest… if we’d just get our heads out of our collective asses.

Hope you had a great Fourth. Now let’s get to work — and earn that next burger & beer!


-Greg
Boom Marketing Group