Sure we gather to see the fireworks and wear our red, white and blue and indulge in blue popsicles with our bright white tennis shoes, but let us not forget the real reason why we wear those colors and what they should stand for.

Red is power. Red is the juicy watermelon stains on the white shirts of kids everywhere-living anywhere. Red is the mixed colors of the sunset, the unity in the beating of our hearts when we root eachother on but also the fiery passion many of us have to make a difference in justice, in love, in acceptance, in peace, in equality. The red is the almost not quite there yet color-maybe never will be, but small changes and we will be..significantly better. And brighter. White stands for truth. Truth and purity and a oneness between and through and amongst people of different upbringings. It's a recognition of different colors but also the understanding that white does not mean clean but an open perspective. It's like a blank canvas. the canvas we should erase and redesign every day we read new information or are impacted by new challenges and so readiness is found in the white and the prospect of positive change and renewed values. Like the open walls of a new structure-that new paint-like smell that soon will be blended and etched, scribbled and scratched. Finally blue which contains that surface level rawness. Rawness we share when pouring out our own hearts, a mixture of sorrow but also a plunge into a cleanliness of our souls and our mission and our faith and walk into open seas every time we open our eyes and look beneath all that has yet to be uncovered. Blue stands for freedom but also captivity, breathing the life into but also taking the life from, washing over waves of pride but also waves of guilt when we acknowledge our privilege and our power and think about what to do with it-to be better. 

So when you wear those colors don't forget to explore what they mean. Don't forget that they aren't just colors but symbols of our country, our setbacks, our small successes and the map of unexplored territory that some of has have not yet dared to explore. Because those symbolic colors are whimsy because we know what they mean at the surface and yet many of us have not yet explored what they actually mean. Now's your time to find that meaning an pass it on, splash it on the canvas of your neighbor. Splash your toes in that red, white and blue. And then find your weakest color. Make your part of the flag stronger-freedom for all.