The 4th of July is a holiday with which I struggle; it is a bittersweet reminder. The sweet part is the image of freedom. It is a testament to how ordinary citizens liberated themselves from an overwhelming, well-established empire.
I don’t think of these ordinary citizens as the underdogs in that fight. A statement as such would assert that two dogs were fighting. To me, that was a war between a wolf who wanted to keep a female fly under submission and unable to fly away. He wouldn’t let her settle peacefully in a field or catch her breath. There was never a moment of peace for the insect. In no way was her opponent going to let her have a better future. Destined to live under the wolf’s shadow, without the help of any other creature, the fly confronted her adversary.
The early settlers confronted the British Empire without the help of “The United Nations or allies.” They confronted them with valor and heart, and they won. I attribute their eventual victory to a higher source and divine intervention. There has never been such a disparity in opponents, with the weaker of the two claiming final victory.
The 4th of July should be the most celebrated day by all Americans. It celebrates divine favor and gratitude to a Creator who fought on their side. This is the part I rejoice in. I allude to the war of independence throughout the year when speaking to young people about the power of persistence. I don’t ever mention the Biblical story of David and Goliath. Even non-spiritual or atheists can’t deny the power and strength displayed by those who believed in the future republic.
My sadness comes to me when I think of us Cubans and how we have put up with a dictator for 62 years. Some may have believed his lies at the beginning of his revolution. I can appreciate, just like the early settlers, why the original Castro supporters gave “The King ” the benefit of the doubt. At some point, however, between 1959 and 2023, we must have realized that something was wrong with the Castro brothers being in power for so long. At some point, we could have learned a few lessons from this great country: The United States of America.
Freedom is not free; it has to be paid with blood and then maintained. Cubans are so far from knowing what it truly feels like to be free, we are not willing to pay the ultimate price for it. It has been 63 years since anyone in Cuba voted for a President or has been able to speak freely about what we are thinking. We keep our thoughts to ourselves because we have witnessed what happens to those who speak up. We let the bad wolf intimidate us with underground prisons, civil rights violations, torture, and public ridicule. No one under 63 years of age knows what it is like to be free. Why would we fight for something we don’t know anything about?
Maybe this is why Cubans are so patriotic when we come to the United States. I dare say that we will be the first ones to go to war and kill an enemy of the United States. We do not allow criticism of this country, and we only see the good in this land called paradise. Why do we leave our island and come to a new country with a very different culture and language and leave everything behind, including family? We don’t come for the goods that America promises. By all accounts and statistics, Cuba had one of the most successful economies in the world until 1959, when the communists took over. Cubans are the wealthiest minority and business owners in the United States. We arrive with the clothes we have on, and we don’t benefit from intergenerational wealth or business connections. We know how to make things happen, and we don’t need to cross the sea to create wealth. We come here to find freedom. We come because one day a year, we celebrate “Independence Day.”
When the fireworks go up, some of us close our eyes and imagine palm trees surrounding us. All around us, people are speaking fast Spanish, and the sound of bongos can be heard around the street corner. The sound of the waves can be heard a few miles away, anywhere we stand in Havana. The air is humid, and there is a significant chance of a refreshing warm rain on July 4th in the Caribbean. I try hard to keep that vision and that dream alive.
Until that day comes, we celebrate with the country that welcomed us. Most adult Cubans eventually birthed children in the United States. We understand completely why they don’t need to close their eyes and dream what it would be like to be free. They were born free, and this is their Independence Day. God bless the USA.
Hildy Valenzuela Wendtland
July 2023
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