Driver's Manual

A Fourth of July reminder to let American values drive us forward.

Note: This audio transcript is included for clarity. You may listen to the full narration by pressing play at the top of this post.

Photo Credit: Paulius Dragunas via Unsplash.

Freedom (noun) - the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action.

Democracy (noun) - a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.

Patriotism (noun) - love for or devotion to one’s country.

Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://merriam-webster.com/dictionary Accessed 4 Jul. 2024

Hey, Everyone!

Greetings from Los Angeles and Happy Fourth of July to you and yours!

For those who don’t yet know me, my name is Sam Reetz and I’m the creative behind

Route 24

on Substack.

There’s a lot going on in the world and it’s human to feel exhausted by the volume of it all. Lately, I’ve been working on stories that reflect American values and what those values might mean depending upon your lived experiences. Recorded history teaches us that on July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress passed the Declaration of Independence formally establishing these United States of America. The values often used to describe the Fourth of July are freedom, democracy, and patriotism and because it’s a federal holiday, it’s a time of leisure for the popular majority.

Growing up in my multicultural family, the Fourth of July represented unity, as it did with many families living in the United States. It was a time where the whole family came together to celebrate what made us American. My grandparents lived in Miami Springs and one of our traditions was to set up lawn chairs in the front yard to watch fireworks from the golf course across the street. These are some of my favorite memories of them and I was reminded of a film I recently watched, called The Long Game, about a team of Mexican-American high school students in Texas who started their own golf team and worked their way to win a state championship. Nothing was easy for this team! They had to navigate several roadblocks, from systemic racism to societal expectations. In every situation they faced, the attempts were to distract - to make them feel ill-equipped to handle the task at hand, to isolate and discredit them, to give misinformation and disinformation about their age and capacity, and to make them “the other”. None of it was true. At their core, they knew that as a team, no matter how many detours they had to take, they knew who they were, they knew what they stood for, they were proud of where they came from, and they were capable of paving the way for future generations to achieve…but there were times where they had to be reminded of it.

As Americans, we are at a point on the road to the 2024 election where we have to think about the long route. Politics may be a game of compromise, but we have to acknowledge that there are some who may not want to understand or ever improve the status quo. That said, what drives us forward are the values that unite us, an unyielding commitment to preserve freedom and democracy for all. Not media manipulation. Not stacking the courts. Not politicians that publicly drag America to make their record look better. Electing a leader that unselfishly acknowledges that there’s much work to be done, admits when he fails, and has a track record that proves he’s prepared to keep doing the work to defend a more perfect Union is a leader who deserves our respect and public support.

If you believe strongly in what this nation can grow into, the values that represent America at its most equitable, I urge you to reconsider taking divisive routes. Whether you live in the Sunbelt or the Blue Wall or any of the states in-between, remember the moments where we came together for love of democracy. Our vote is our voice and we must use it wisely this November.

For those who came before and for we, the people, together and onward!

Stay the course,

Sam

Route 24 is an independent newsletter for those who feel out of gas with current news cycles and elect stories that drive public trust.