July 3rd, 2026
I saw a t-shirt today that made me sad.
It also served as an important statement on the state of this country during our birthday this weekend.
The shirt itself was joyously racist and aggressively obnoxious; in other words, it well-represented the administration and its supporters. It’s not always a shirt; sometimes it’s a hat or a bumper sticker or a viral tweet. There’s still (always) a lot of discussion about what divides us, but this was a good reminder of one of the clear and obvious differences: some of us fight for things, and some of us just fight against them.
I’d argue we’re at our best when we stand up for ourselves, for our values, beliefs, ideals, communities, and the people we love and care about; we’re at our worst when we incessantly and viciously attack, insult, and denigrate one another or whole groups of human beings.
This sounds like the kind of polite manners and mutual respect we used to teach children by example, but I have never seen adults this openly abusive and abrasive in my life, and as quick to flop and cry foul when the same crass techniques are turned around and pointed their way.
When you squint and see through all the bad behavior, however, you start to realize something: there isn’t anything these people are fighting for. It’s just a bunch of bullshit they’ve been brainwashed with to incubate fear and hate.
It’s something I think about all the time. When I get angry or become critical, I ask myself: what am I fighting for? And if I can’t answer that question honestly, then I realize I’m a sucker getting caught up in the mob, too. I’m human. It happens.
But it’s a question worth asking yourself, over and over and over. It’s the question that led to the birth of this country. And it’s a question that, once it dies, takes life and liberty and happiness and hope with it.
The Den 