Insanity Alert: How is celebrating America—its heroes and history racist?

By Michael Hernandez

I am not a Marxist. I am not a Socialist. I am not a Communist. I am not a Fascist. I am a law-abiding Patriot flag waver—proud to be an American—who has a challenge to those who hate the United States. Leave the country you hate. Don’t live in misery!

Question: How did celebrating America—its heroes and history become racist?

Why do I love America? It has been a land of opportunity for my family that came here from Mexico over 100 years ago because they were looking for a better life.

My dad worked the strawberry fields of Oxnard as well as fields up and down California as a farmworker. He somehow managed to finish high school and then went off to World War II where he proudly served America.

Dad was color blind. His buddies were Black, white and brown. They were united and each would have died for one another. When the war was over; his buddies encouraged him to go to college. Dad did. He finished his career as a public school principal. He was the first Mexican American principal in San Bernardino County. We were the first Mexican American family to live outside the barrio.

Only in the United States of America—not Cuba, not Venezuela, not the Soviet Union, not China, could you rise up from poverty to an upper middle class lifestyle. Show me how that is done in the communist nations I listed; or in Eastern Europe before the Iron Curtain fell? Show me how that is done in a caste system like India?

Dad didn’t believe in government handouts. Dad didn’t believe he was a victim. Dad wasn’t interested in protesting or demonstrations. Dad believed in hard work and in a nation where hard work would be rewarded regardless of color. Dad became the first Mexican American president of the Lions Club in his area. He proudly served as a Commander of the Knights of Columbus where he lived. Dad helped others escape poverty and pursue education.

My family story is why I believe in America. My family story is why I believe in law enforcement and first responders. One of my cousins is a retired detective. Another cousin is Fire Department Captain. I have cousins who are attorneys. We are educators in my own immediate family. We don’t all have the same political ideology or the same religious beliefs. But we are family and stand by each other. We help each other. We serve each other.

America celebrated its 244^th anniversary this Fourth of July. While I celebrated a quiet Fourth of July making sure my flag was up and waving watching World War II movies (Pearl Harbor, Flags of Our Fathers, Midway) of heroes. How did others observe the day?

• Washington, D.C.: Far-left Black Lives Matters (BLM) and Antifa activists stomped and danced on the United States flag in front of the White House. One of the activists defacing the flag is caught saying: “Get (this flag) dirty, that’s what the flag is, it’s dirty, it represents filth, greed, crime.” In the evening, protesters used obscenities against the Fourth of July and any fireworks.

• New York City: Over the weekend, leftists pushed “Cancel Hamilton” in regards to Disney’s debut of the award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton which made its Broadway debut on January, 2015. Ironically, the musical raised money for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and co-creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda even introduced Clinton as the next 45^th President of the United States (which did not happen as Donald J. Trump was elected President in 2016).

Pro-Palestinian Black Lives Matter protesters were heard calling for “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.” One pro-North Korea activist called for the end of the United States of America. Protesters called to “abolish the police.”

Meanwhile, while BLM protesters sough to abolish the police—six Black children were killed by Black on Black violence in the following cities:

• Atlanta, Georgia: 8-year-old Secoriea Turner.
• Austin, Texas: 7-year-old Natalia Wallace shot in the head while standing on the sidewalk of her grandmother’s house.
• Chicago, Illinois: a 14-year-old boy not identified as of yet.
• Hoover, Alabama: 8-year-old Royta Giles, Jr. shot in the head at the Riverchase Galleria Mall.
• Washington, D.C.: an 11-year-old boy killed by a stray bullet while grabbing a phone charger on the way to a community cookout.
• San Francisco, California (Bayview neighborhood) an unidentified child shot found by the police and later died at the hospital.

Locally (in the City of Ventura), a group of 75 California history fighters defended the Junipero Serra City Hall statue on July 4th from Black Lives Matter protesters who had gathered at Cemetery Memorial Park at Main Street and Aliso Lane.  The Ventura County Star reported that promotional slogans for the event read: “Demonstrate against July 4^th with us!” “Cancel the 4^th of July,” No Red, White, and Blue Until We See Black Lives Matter Through.”

This editorial writer does not believe in the false narrative created by Black Lives Matter that you are either for justice or you’re a patriot. All injustice is wrong! Blacks killing Blacks is wrong! Defunding police is wrong! This is insanity!

(Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Citizens Journal.)

Michael Hernandez, Co-Founder of the Citizens Journal—Ventura County’s online news service; editor of the History Makers Report and founder of History Makers International—a community nonprofit serving youth and families in Ventura County, is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor. He worked 25 years as a middle school teacher in Monrovia and Los Angeles Unified School Districts. Mr. Hernandez can be contacted by email at [email protected].

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