On This Independence Day We Are Less Free

On this Independence Day, we are told to celebrate freedom but for millions of Americans, that freedom is out of reach.

Thanks to un-American policies that prioritize the wealthy and powerful, our nation is less free. And for the working class and the poor, that loss of freedom is not symbolic, it’s painfully real and lived every day.

You are not free if you can’t afford enough food.

Children go to school hungry, making it harder to concentrate, harder to learn, and harder to break the cycle of poverty. Adults work long hours and still can’t afford groceries that aren’t processed or nutrient-poor. How is that freedom?

You are not free if your housing is unstable.

Families are crammed into overpriced rentals. Tenants live in fear of eviction over a missed paycheck or a rent hike. Millions sleep in shelters, cars, or on the street—while luxury apartments and second homes sit empty. Housing is a human right, but without it, people are trapped—by stress, by danger, by systems that punish the poor.

You are not free if you can’t afford healthcare.

People delay seeing doctors or skip medications altogether because of cost. One unexpected illness or accident can bankrupt a family. That’s not freedom, it’s fear disguised as choice.

You are not free if you are crushed by student debt.

Young people are told education is the path to a better future, but then they spend decades buried in debt for following that path. That debt delays homeownership, family planning, and even career options. That’s not opportunity. That’s financial shackles.

You are not free if you are overworked and underpaid.

Millions work 2–3 jobs and still live paycheck to paycheck. While CEOs make millions, essential workers—nurses, delivery drivers, grocery clerks, teachers—are burned out and barely scraping by. That is not freedom. That is exploitation.

You are not free if the criminal justice system treats you like property.

Poor communities and people of color are over-policed, over-incarcerated, and under-protected. The prison-industrial complex profits off stolen freedom every single day, while the wealthy evade justice entirely.

You are not free when billionaires buy elections and write the rules.

The ultra-wealthy use money to influence laws, silence workers, and kill reforms. When money equals speech, the majority have no voice.

This is the reality for millions of Americans this Independence Day.

The rich have rigged the system, and we are less free because of it. Our independence cannot just mean fireworks and flags. It must mean fighting for a country where freedom is not reserved for the wealthy few, but extended to all through justice, equality, and dignity.

Until then, this isn’t a day of freedom.