July 4th one year ago was all about nostalgia. In last year’s post I wrote about celebrating the 4th of July as a kid and why it is still my favorite holiday,

Earlier in the day we would attend, or sometimes host our neighborhood’s famous backyard pancake breakfast. The hosts made the pancakes, and everyone brought another dish, usually bacon (I swear you’ve never seen so many plates of bacon!). Afterwards we would go to the town fair – jump in the moonwalk until we were sick, have our faces painted, get soaked in the water balloon toss, and maybe take a whirl on the miniature ponies. Depending on the leniency of my mom that particular year my brother and I may have even split a funnel cake or a root beer float. Regardless, by late afternoon, our minds inevitably turned to fried chicken. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits, coleslaw and from-the-box brownies to be exact.”

I remember feeling that I needed to capture something about years past with my post. Something sweet to hold on to in case the America I yearned for was swept away. Certainly we knew what was to come; like the smell of rain before the storm, the winds of change were already blowing.

At that point the possibility of a black president was still an apprehensive hope. Bernie Madoff’s investors were blissfully unaware that they had lost billions. Sarah Palin had not yet begun torturing the American people. Michael Jackson was planning a comeback. Elliot Spitzer, John Edwards, Gov. Sanford, and John Ensign still had bright political futures and wives who loved them. “Bailout” and “stimulus package” were not yet dropped into casual conversation. Our dinosaur TVs still worked. Swine flu had not yet caused mass panic and just as quickly, disinterest. Pirates were associated with Johnny Depp, and tea parties remained a proud reference to American Independence.

It’s been a big year for America. One of hardship and indeed “hope”. Some survived against all odds and many did not. At Imagine 2050 we have watched tragedies unfold that stretched the emotional endurance of our writers, celebrated our heroes, and exposed threats to our freedom. At this moment we are struggling and the outcomes are still unclear. Will we emerge a better nation, a multicultural, tolerant nation?  Or will we fall short, unable to fully embrace the changing face of America? Today we don’t have an answer, but we do have the opportunity to reflect, to celebrate, and yes, even be proud, of a nation that is redefining freedom, mourning our mistakes, finally shedding the bonds of apathy.

Happy Independence Day.