Ahead of the official “Freedom 250” events planned for July 4, a coalition of progressive groups — including One Fair Wage, the Workers Center for Racial Justice, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice — are mobilizing to direct the country’s attention away from Trump, Christian nationalism, and even the country’s history and independence — and toward a future in which Americans celebrate their “connectedness.”
“Interdependence means recognizing that our lives, our communities, and our futures are interconnected,” the Next250 Alliance statement said. Website. “It means understanding that none of us are free, safe, or prosperous alone, and that the well-being of our communities, our democracy, our environment, and future generations depends on how much we care for each other now.”
On June 27, a week before Independence Day, people from across the United States plan to attend the national mobilization in Washington, D.C., where the coalition “will consider our nation’s history and simultaneously declare a shared vision for the country’s future.”
The event will be magnified Declaration of interdependencea document focusing on the “collective destiny” of every individual in the United States.
“We are one nation, interconnected, held together by the strength of our ideals, our shared history, and the exceptional land on which we live – administered from time immemorial by indigenous nations whose sovereignty and leadership continue today,” the declaration said. “We can only achieve this vision by recognizing our common destiny, respecting our common humanity, and working together.”
“Today, too many people in the United States struggle to meet their basic needs, while too few have more money than the nations do,” the document continues. “Many of us feel disconnected from our neighbors, have lost trust in government, and yearn for community. People do not feel safe from violence. Wildfires, floods, and extreme weather are devastating entire communities. We are coming together in our shared values to forge a path toward a better future for ourselves and each other.”
The Declaration pledges to look forward and build a nation where:
- All people are treated with dignity and respect;
- Everyone feels safe in every community;
- Access to clean green spaces is abundant;
- Everyone who works receives a living wage and benefits that allow the family to achieve work-life balance.
Town halls, such as the event scheduled for the 27th, have included music and art exhibitions as well as discussions about a more inclusive and democratic future for the United States.
Sarsour told Common Dreams that organizers “really tried to use the themes and words that came out of those hearings and develop a declaration of interdependence.”
Sarsour added: “What it confirmed to me personally and to the people participating is that the majority of people agree on very basic universal values and principles.” “People want safety. People want dignity. People want to thrive. People are tired of just surviving.”
The coalition found that “living wages” were an issue that people across the country “fundamentally agreed upon”.
“Everyone, regardless of their political party, regardless of where you live in the country, nobody wants to work three jobs to support their family,” Sarsour said. “So the idea of economic justice and a living wage is actually a universal principle and a value that people in this country have.”
She told Common Dreams that a majority of Americans also agree with “sensible gun reform,” and despite Trump’s insistence that the climate crisis is a “scam,” most people in the U.S. I don’t agree with him. Broad agreement has also been reached when it comes to reproductive rights, with voters in red states like Kansas and… Kentucky Voting to protect access to abortion in recent years after overthrowing the right-wing majority on the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade.
“I think when you have conversations about universal values, the question is like, ‘What do you think your neighbors want?’” Sarsour said. “And I think everyone says, ‘Yes, of course, why wouldn’t my neighbor also want a living wage?’ Why wouldn’t my neighbor also want health care?” It’s just that we never give our employees the opportunity to think about these things or ask them questions and get them to ask these questions about others.”
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