Every Fourth of July, I watch the American sky light up and think about the people who came before me.

I think of generations who knew what it meant to lose a home. I think of those who carried memories of persecution across borders and oceans, rebuilt their lives in unfamiliar lands, and preserved their faith, language, and traditions because survival meant more than staying alive. It meant refusing to disappear.

I see America through Armenian and Jewish eyes.

I carry the memory of two ancient peoples who learned one of history’s hardest lessons: a home can be lost, hatred can become respectable, neighbors can become silent, and freedom can disappear while the world is still debating what to call the danger.

Our histories are distinct and should never be reduced to comparison. But both carry a warning every free society should hear: freedom is precious, silence has consequences, and hatred must be confronted before it becomes history.

That is why the Fourth of July means so much to me.

America has known injustice and profound failures to live up to its ideals. Yet it remains one........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)