Today we celebrate the birth of a truly unique exceptional nation. July 4th is a special day full of fun, food, firecrackers and feeling proud of this great land and the Old Glory. This year July 4th feels even more special to me as I am celebrating my first July 4th as an American! My journey as an immigrant has been full of adventure and great experiences! This is the country where I feel at home, at peace. I found love, family and sense of belonging (specially as a woman) in America. I feel welcomed, accepted and in some cases special because of where I came from! I usually try to keep my political views out of my blog but today I have to express something that is bothering me a lot lately. I don't mean to 'offend' anybody, but want to express some really common sense thoughts! These days we are hearing a lot about how Americans are turning 'anti-immigrants'! When people (specially in media, no matter what their political leaning is) talk about immigration, they totally ignore the difference between legal and illegal immigration. Somehow, the general narrative is that if you oppose people breaking and entering in your home, you are anti-immigrant, a racist and elitist of the highest nature! In a world of social media activism, it is very easy to promote this theory with a neat #ImmigrationReform hashtag! As a legal immigrant, I feel greatly offended when people talk about 'immigration reform' that caters to rule breakers and hugely undermines the law abiding immigrants (who really wait patiently for the 'reform' to take place!). There are millions of legal immigrants coming in every year, who follow the law. They show that it is easily done, It is ongoing. It is possible. There are thousands of immigrants who flee the wars, crimes and genocide and LEGALLY end up coming to USA! So when people talk about how 'anti-immigrant' America is I laugh at their stupidity and fume at their ignorance. America is a nation of immigrants and will always be! My mind boggles when people give the example of how 'Europeans were illegals' hundreds of years ago, so in modern world too 'illegals' should be OK! I mean, do we not learn anything from history? If something wrong was done 200 years ago, should we still follow that because 'it was once done!? In the modern geo-political world, immigration is different than what it was couple centuries ago! How can a sane person debate the 'immigration reform' and totally forget about the 'reform' part?? But I guess that is the price we way when we let Twitter decide whether we should obey constitution or not! LOL!
Anyways, I know it is a futile exercise to convince anyone who has already made up their mind about America's generosity or meanness - depending upon what your POV is - but I feel I need to share what I feel as a citizen, as a girl who has seen the other part of the world where citizenship doesn't guarantee you a voice!! I say this as an immigrant who believes in the fairness and justness and exceptionalism of America. I say this as a citizen whose heart is full of gratitude and love for her nation!
Coming back to my July 4th outfit - this ASOS dress is a great starting point to create a patriotic outfit. With a blue denim jacket and white and blue striped shoes, I am all set to wear the colors of my flag and wave it with pride!
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