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Happy 4th of July
I left one of the last colonies of the British Empire in January of 1994. As I said goodbye to my parents, my girlfriend, and highschool classmates, I embarked on the longest journey of my life. I held my tears all the way until the door was closed on the plane. There, in the middle seat of a packed jumbo jet, tears dripped through my face. I was heading to the land of the free, by myself.
When the clock struck midnight on July 1st, 1997, I have already graduated from college, married, and joined the US workforce. Ten years later, I swore my allegiance to the Union. A corner was cut from my British passport.
I love celebrating the 4th of July. I always make sure we would go to a nearby park early to get a nice seat for the fireworks. For many years, my wife and I would ditch our friends because they did not want to wait for a long time. I want to enjoy the music along with the fireworks. When “America the Beautiful” was played toward the climax of the fireworks, my heart would pond. I felt grateful for a free and fair America.
This year though, we are not going out. As I talked to friends recently, many felt the country is in trouble. Because of the pandemic, because of racial injustice, many felt depressed.
I have a different perspective. Last year, I spent a lot of time in Hong Kong. I witnessed first hand how my beloved city is being…
