Happy 241st Birthday USA

Independence Day

Grace, Haley, Kaya, Kirsten, Lanie, Lea, Melody, 2 or more

We were having a lot of fun on July 4.
Preparing great food.
Playing "fireworks."

And watching 1776.
One of the lines made us think of an article we read by Feminist Asian Dad the other day.
The article made us sad.
And mad; it shouldn't be that way.
Here is a link to the article it's called, "I'm Not Full American Because I'm Not White."
The line John Adams says to Edward Ruttledge is

"Yes, they are [Americans]. They are people, and they are here. If there's any other requirement, I haven't heard it." 

Today there are a couple of other requirements, but for all intents and purposes they boil down to being born here or passing the citizenship test.
And, honestly, if you are anything other than Native American, somewhere in your ancestry someone took that citizenship test.
And was probably considered an foreigner.

I'm an American

Melody

My ancestors came here from Germany, Sweden, and England.

Kirsten

My ancestors came from Sweden in the mid-1800s to start a new life in this new country. They were homesteaders on the prairie.

Grace

I'm not as well versed on my ancestry, but I know some came from France and others Switzerland.

Haley

One of these days I'd like to visit the islands my ancestors came from...Greece and Ireland.

Lanie

I can trace my ancestors back to Norway, Holland, and Belgium.

Lea

Seems I'm the southern girl of the bunch. My ancestors came from Brazil and Mexico; oh, and some from Germany and Italy too.

Kaya

Well, here you go. My ancestors were born here. My main lineage is Nez Perce or Nimi'ipuu, but over time my blood and DNA has come to include other Pacific Northwest and Northwest tribes.

We are a blended family like the melting pot that is the USA. 
No matter our ancestry 
or skin tone
we are all Silverleafs and we are all Americans. 

The people and soldiers who fought to create our the USA 
came from different countries. 
People keep coming from other countries and many become Americans over time too. 
Did you know it takes three to five years? 
And we understand most of us would not be questioned like the girl in the article; it's frustrating.
So next time you feel the urge to ask, "Where do you come from?" Try to change it to, "What's your heritage?" instead. Just something to think about. 

Happy 241st Birthday, USA! How did you celebrate?

Best wishes,