Dear Editor

Nobody’s safe. 

As a dual citizen who holds American and Samoan citizenship, I appreciate how your editorial  gave a historical context to the fourth of July. 

The fourth of July is a chance for barbecues and beer, a chance to be at the park and wave our American flags that were made in Korea. A chance for department stores to sell you garbage you don’t need and to exhaust your credit card on things your children want. It’s ridiculous and it’s American. 

The fourth of July has a lot of different meanings to me as the country I was born in and even taking for granted the freedom I have that others get killed for. 

I was born when President Richard Nixon was impeached so right away I was born in a time where America fired its president. 

From President Nixon to President Trump, America was never safe. 

During President Obama’s presidency more black men were killed by police than when George Bush was president. Where’s the safety for black men when the president is black? Immaterial. Even with video cameras that clearly show cops killing black men. Doesn’t matter. Judge rules. Cops Acquitted. 

What else? 

More immigrants were deported during Obama’s presidency and more prisoners were pardoned by Barack than any other President. I’m not making that up. How safe can you feel when the president just let loose felons and convicts? Maybe he wanted to make the next president’s job harder by doing that. Who feels safe with that? 

Who feels safe when guns are legal, bullets can fly anywhere and democracy in America is like a slot machine in Las Vegas. It’s all a gamble. Baseball, medical insurance, police and even religion can’t guarantee safety. Who needs to feel safe when Donald Trump was a star of a reality tv show? It’s so real it’s surreal. 

We can’t even guarantee that airbags and seatbelts will save your life if your car gets thrashed by a train. Nobody’s safe. 

From President Nixon to President Trump the number of Americans killing each other is still higher than the amount of terrorists that shot people. 

In fact, if you calculate the amount of drunk drivers from 2007-2017 that killed people it’s still more than how many terrorists decapitated American heads. So whether it’s Donald Trump or Donald Duck that’s president of the free world, I don’t feel safe and I don’t trust it. 

I remember the tv show Simpsons predicted that Donald Trump would be president sixteen years ago. President Trump’s campaign slogan was “America you can be my next wife”. Was that an Omen? 

For American colonies to be independent from the British it had to be a violent struggle to gain independence.