Is it me or does the month of July seem to resonate with the idea of what it means to be an American? Of course, we just celebrated our Independence on the 4th. Lying under the stars while the fireworks seem to endlessly entertain us in the sky above, we sat there in awe, jaws dropped, oohing and awing. It’s almost impossible to not wander off into your imagination considering who we are as a people. You are instantly connected with a rich history that has brought our country to this moment. All the battles that we have fought to get here. To be Americans.
July is filled with these moments and a feeling that highlights why it is so great to live in our country. But if we look past the hot days at the pool, apple pie, baseball games and fireworks there is another feeling . . . a feeling of unrest. It lies beneath the surface of our usual free spiritedness at this time of the year. And so, in a strange way, we are reminded that independence is not something to be attained, but something we will constantly work towards. We will continue to strive
towards individuality, but be a like-minded people energized to fight for the underrepresented, the ignored and the silenced, in an effort to move forward with a shared vision. We can only hope to pave the road to a bright future for generations to come.
To quote the brilliant Dan Rather, “When we live in a self-selected bubble of friends, neighbors, and colleagues, it is too easy to forget how important it is to try to walk in the shoes of others. “
It is with no doubt that our amazing community will continue to support one another with a shared ideal that by lifting each other up, we empower ourselves. It is one of the many aspects of our neighborhood that we appreciate most.
I hope that some day in the future my kids will be with their own children on a hot summer day in July under the same stars, watching the fireworks and feeling a sense of pride about the people that we have become.
Your neighbors – Sam & Shaleen DeStefano