July 4, 2025 — Fireworks, picnics, parades and flag waving will be on tap for July 4th. Thousands of people will attend sporting events, and they’ll stand for the singing of the national anthem. Around the country, millions will find some way to celebrate Independence Day. Just days ago, we demonstrated to the world that we possess some of the most sophisticated weaponry ever made. Stealth B-2 bombers flew thousands of miles undetected to drop bombs on Iran and project U.S. military power.
Throughout the country’s history and its many wars, we’ve been fortunate to have brave and courageous citizens serve in our military. They have fought and died around the world. When one looks at the names of those who have earned the Congressional Medal of Honor, there are the obvious names one expects like Adams, Bailey, Jones and Smith. Other names on the list of recipients include Espinoza, Hayashi, Alvarado, Nishimoto, Silva and Wai. Looking at the photographs of those who have received the highest award for military valor, they include men from disparate ethnic backgrounds and one woman. Congressional Medal of Honor Society | Official Website.
The names of professional athletes who provide entertainment and escape from the more serious aspects of life are no different. Those who compete under the U.S. flag can be as common as Collins, Keys, and Paul. Other Americans competing have names like Tien, Tiafoe, Li, Anisimova, and Nakashima.
On one hand, we see this diversity of names, people and their ethnic and racial backgrounds as typically American. Yet, on the other hand, today we have many who seem to fear what we assumed gave us strength.
What is strikingly apparent in recent months is not American courage. It’s American fear. Indeed, we have our American military power to project and use abroad, but at home within our borders, people in the most powerful positions exhibit and project fear. Worse, they instill fear in others like a disease, and it becomes a disease used to divide the citizenry.
At the very top of the power structure of the United States, fear of free speech is on display daily. Free speech sparks rants and tantrums from the highest office holder in the country. Free speech prompts government threats against institutions, businesses and individuals. Free speech exercised by those abroad results in threats by U.S. Government officials and threats of denying visas.
Through our Secretary of Health and Human Services, we see fear of research backed science. From a man whose background is void of scientific study and research, he promotes, at best, questionable theories. He has used his name and position to cause many to question the efficacy of vaccines despite decades of evidence that vaccines have allowed millions to either avoid contracting certain diseases or survive them. He promotes the fear of vaccines to the point that many children will not be vaccinated and will likely lead to higher deaths not only in the United States but around the world. How Kennedy Has Worked Abroad to Weaken Global Public Health Policy – The New York Times. It leaves in doubt the future health and safety of the children and grandchildren of Americans who benefitted from decades of vaccinations that allowed us to grow older without many diseases.
The fear of freedom of religion allowing parents and individuals to make these personal decisions for themselves and their children is still prevalent as state governments attempt to intrude on such personal matters. What other reason exists in yet another attempt to force the display of the ten commandments in Texas schools? New Texas law will require Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom | AP News. Despite court rulings that have found these laws unconstitutional, the continuing effort to thrust one religion onto Americans appears to be evidence that many fear beliefs of others. Does the fear of someone else’s different religion threaten the convictions of one’s own faith? Is it a lack of conviction that requires the state that is in favor of one religion to legislate its beliefs over all others?
The recent decision to rename a navy vessel (renaming USNS Harvey Milk to USNS Oscar V. Peterson), USNS Harvey Milk, ship honoring slain gay rights leader, being renamed USNS Oscar V. Peterson, Hegseth says – CBS News, also reflects the fears of many. According to Secretary Hegseth, who wants to project a warrior ethos, he probably doesn’t like the idea that a gay man served in the military. However, a reality that we should all be able to accept is that throughout our history gay men and lesbian women have served.
Of all the fears being promoted in the U.S., it is to fear immigrants. Specifically, fear of the current immigrants, not people descended from immigrants. While political points are scored by targeting illegal/undocumented immigrants as the people committing crimes, it’s hard to find any supporting evidence that they commit violent crimes at a rate higher than citizens. Immigrants less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born : NPR, Comparing crime rates between undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants, and native-born US citizens in Texas – PMC.
Instilling fear has become a hallmark of our government. From the White House on down, it seems that people filling these positions of power hope Americans will embrace these fears and surrender their rights or stand aside and allow the rights enshrined in the constitution and the laws of these United States to be trampled with impunity.
As millions celebrate Independence Day and there are occasions on that day to sing along with the national anthem, how much longer will this be the land of the free? Are the days of being the home of the brave already only a nostalgic sentiment because we’ve surrendered to the fears that our own government wants to instill in its citizens?
There is no warrior ethos that is missing within the United States as those in the U.S. military have never failed to demonstrate their commitment to their mission. Electing a convicted felon to the highest office in the land brings into question the ethos of the United States. Is Trump a felon? A year later, he is fighting the guilty verdict. As the president displays his contempt for the constitution and the rule of law, it leaves to us, the people, to determine whether the United States can shake off the fears that those in government want to instill. We the people need to make choices.
To the extent we retain the right to vote, the question is how brave is the U.S. electorate? Do we go forward electing officials who tell us what to fear? Do we continue to allow those with contempt for the constitution and the rule of law to occupy decision making power? Or, do we promote a country that, without erasing history, facts, and people, acknowledges it will be stronger because of an inclusive community working and competing to improve and progress? We, the people, must determine which future awaits the United States.
Photo of author Timothy Trainer by AnnaGibbs.com
About the Timothy Trainer: Writing books is a passion for attorney Timothy Trainer, who for more than three decades focused on intellectual property issues in his day job. He has worked in government agencies and in the private sector and his assignments have taken him to 60 countries around the world.
Tim found time to pen a few non-fiction tomes, including his first book, Customs Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights; the 15th edition was published in 2022. Thomson Reuters’ Aspatore Books published Tim’s next title in 2015, Potato Chips to Computer Chips: The War on Fake Stuff.
Fiction was a genre he always wanted to try. In 2019, Pendulum Over the Pacific, was released by Joshua Tree Publishing. “This political intrigue story is set in Tokyo and Washington, D.C., and centers on trade tensions between the U.S. and Japan in the late 1980s,” Tim explains.
In 2023, his first series hit bookstores: The China Connection.
In 2025, he published the sequel, The China Factor, which ranked #63 on the Amazon Asian Literature list in May.
Learn more about this book and Tim’s writing process when he’s interviewed by author Jeffrey James Higgins’ for his new Inkandescent podcast and video show: Elaine’s Literary Salon.
Learn about Tim’s work and books: timothytrainer.com