Dear American Friends

As you are celebrating the approval of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America on July 4th, you should take a moment to reflect on the state of affairs in this country. It won’t make you less of an American if you do so. In fact, reflecting, questioning, and even criticizing are a demonstration of your love for this country and your desire to ensure this place is a better place for present and future generations. Your indifference, however, demonstrates a lack of care for this country, and could even become dangerous.

While you gather with family and friends (and taking all the necessary precautions), you cannot do without having a thought for those who are no longer with us today because they died of COVID-19 or were shot because their skin color made them suspicious in the eye of those who were supposed to protect them.

Dear American friends, it would be a betrayal to your nation to celebrate without taking some time for self-introspection.

So far, nearly 130,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the United States. Many of these deaths could have been avoided, had the U.S. President taken seriously the severity of the pandemic and responded to it with the same determination and vigor than he did when he had threatened to deploy the Army against BLM protesters last month. The pandemic still kills, yet the U.S. President barely mentions it in his rallies. He barely has had words for those who died, fell sick, and those who survived. Not even words for those who have put their own lives at risk to save others. In fact, the U.S. President doesn't mind putting people’s lives in danger while carefully protecting himself. Anyone who registered to attend the president’s Oklahoma rally last month had to accept a disclaimer that they “voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19” and will not sue the campaign, the venue, or other potentially liable parties if they become sick. Today, the United States stands far from being a healthy nation that serves the people. Instead, it serves the whims of one man.

One hundred fifty-five years after the abolishment of slavery and the constitutional and legislative establishment of equal rights for all Americans, Black women and men are still being killed by police officers again and again. Their skin color continues to be their death sentence. Black families have been left mourning their sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, fathers and mothers. Often, they have not fully mourned that another death strikes their community again. When a police officer is not shooting, choke-holding, or kneeling on a black man's neck, white people are pointing guns at black people for daring to speak up. Racism is deeply entrenched in American society and on this day many African-Americans refuse to celebrate the independence of a nation that has yet to grant them the same rights and freedoms than a non-Black person. Rather, the day is a reminder of the complicated relationship this country has had with Black Americans. The recent killing of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks are the most recent and painful reminders of the worth of Black American's lives in this country.

Today, the United States stands far from being a healthy nation that serves the people. Instead, it serves the whims of one man.

Today, the United States is more divided than united. And the current president has widely contributed to the divisions by using a divisive narrative since the early days of his presidential campaign in 2015. His targets have been the immigrants, the refugees, the Mexicans, the Muslims, the black community, the women, the press, the disabled, and the multilateral institutions. More recently, the U.S. President began targeting the left and ‘far-left’ accusing them of wanting to erase American history. A true leader brings communities and different groups of people together. A task that the U.S. President has intentionally failed to fulfill.

Rising economic inequalities have also contributed to the American societal divide. The black-white income gap in the United States has persisted over time. The difference in median household incomes between white and black Americans has grown from about $23,800 in 1970 to roughly $33,000 in 2018, according to the Pew Research Center. Besides, the wealth gap between America’s richest and poorer families has more than doubled from 1989 to 2016. These figures tell a story: the United States has yet to become a nation “for the people.” 

Racism is deeply entrenched in American society and on this day many African-Americans refuse to celebrate the independence of a nation that has yet to grant them the same rights and freedoms than a non-Black person.

Ironically, Americans believe they are free. They are not. They are prisoners of false freedoms. For example, the freedom of choice becomes an illusion when one has to choose between avoiding going to see a doctor because of high medical costs or getting care and dealing with daunting medical bills. A poll conducted by Gallup in December 2019 found that 25% of Americans say they or a family member have delayed medical treatment for serious illness due to the costs of care. High healthcare costs are causing Americans to get sicker from delaying, avoiding, or stopping medical treatment. Individuals and families should not have to make these choices. Healthcare should be a right and not a privilege. How can the United States claim to be the greatest world power when 30 million Americans who lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot afford to treat the illness because they no longer have health insurance? It's already been proven that a healthy nation offers more benefits - economic being one of them - than a nation whose people avoid getting healthcare because of the unaffordable cost. Today, more than 130 countries recognize a constitutional right to health care. The United States is not one of them.

As the United States stands divided, the American leadership has weakened on the international stage and the country is no longer viewed by its traditional allies as a reliable partner. A recent survey conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations in 9 European countries found that barely 1 percent of respondents in France, Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Spain considered the United States to be an ally during the COVID-19 pandemic. The vacuum left by the United States on the global stage is expectedly filled by other actors - such as China and Russia - and is leading to a new world order. Foreign countries and citizens used to admire the United States. Today, they pity America. 

Ironically, Americans believe they are free. They are not. They are prisoners of false freedoms.

It doesn’t need to be this way. The United States can be again that great nation that other countries envy and aspire to. The leaders of this nation will have to put aside their own interests and political agendas and put people’s interests first. They will have to show humility and be willing to learn from other nations, especially in areas of healthcare and education. They will have to recognize the pain and the injustice experienced by minority groups, primarily people of color, and work with them to bring change. A national conversation that addresses racism, privileges, and economic inequalities is sorely needed. There is a long road ahead and one major stopover will be the presidential election on November 3.