The Fourth of July Isn’t Canceled—But Some People Are Sure As Hell Acting Like It

When you sit in the corner licking your wounds, you’re doing the enemy’s work for them.

The Fourth of July Isn’t Canceled—But Some People Are Sure As Hell Acting Like It

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #403

This morning I posted a short video on social media saying, "Have an enjoyable 4th of July."

Simple. Straightforward. And yet, some of the apathy and nonsense comments that popped up were not the words of a party that is aligned…focused…and ready to fight like hell with the spirit of warriors…or our ancestors.

Nope. They sounded like the defeated mumblings of people more interested in licking their wounds than charging back into the fight. That’s a sickness we need to stamp out immediately.

I'm going to tell you something most people are too damn afraid to say out loud.

The people who need to read this the most…probably won’t. That’s usually how it works.

In a perfect world…those whining today about how "there's nothing to celebrate on the Fourth of July," they would sit down…shut their mouth...and read this. Carefully. Slowly. Let it burn a little.

They’re not deep. They’re not righteous. They’re not brave. They’re not leading the resistance. They’re just broadcasting a gigantic...neon sign over their head that says: "I’ve quit."

I mean it. This miserable…self-indulgent…public grieving ritual that some people think passes for courage? It’s weakness dressed up in self-importance. And it’s not just annoying. It’s dangerous.

Because when they plant their ass in the corner to mope about how there’s "nothing to celebrate" today, they’re not just quitting on themselves.

They’re quitting on the people around them. They’re quitting on the fight. They’re quitting on the freedom that was bought and paid for with blood by people who sure as hell didn’t curl up in a fetal position when times got tough.

You know what real fighters did when they faced tyranny? They picked up muskets…faced down empires…crossed freezing rivers at midnight…starved…bled…clawed…and fought until the damn job was done.

And…the “There’s no reason to celebrate the 4th of July this year!” folks think they’ve made some big G’damn sacrifice by hearing Lawrence O’donnell talk about the axe job Trump and the GOP just didn’t to healthcare…and many other things?

That’s embarrassing.

And because a Medicaid slashing Bill was signed by Trump today…they need time to “grieve”? Give me a f*cking break. Do they realize how ignorant that sounds? Or, worse…how self-defeating it IS?

Their passion should be running so hot…and their game plan for personal action so crystal clear….that grieving is the last thing on their mind. That is not the mindset of people who win battles…or who conquer evil. It’s a precursor to saying, “I give up!”

Did the hundreds of thousands of 18-20 year old kids who have been killed while living up to their oath in one of our many wars sit around moaning that they needed time to process their feelings. I’ll give you the answer: NO. They did not.

So let’s get something straight.

If you can’t find a reason to celebrate freedom today—you’re the problem.

When you act like the Fourth of July is canceled because Trump signed another round of Medicaid cuts, you’re giving him exactly what he wants. You’re rolling over. You’re signaling surrender. You’re voluntarily stripping yourself of the fire it takes to win.

Let me be even more blunt.

We don’t get to pout your way to victory.

We don’t get to cry your way into progress.

We don’t get to call a time-out in the middle of a national crisis because your feelings are hurt.

There’s a time to mourn. There’s a time to process.

And there’s a time to get your ass back in the arena. When the fight is on, you fight. Period.

The Fourth of July isn’t about pretending everything is fine. It’s about remembering why we fight in the first place.

It’s about remembering that freedom…however dented…bruised…and bloodied it may look today…is still worth fighting for.

You celebrate to remind yourself what’s at stake.

You celebrate to remind others that this fight is winnable.

You celebrate to tell tyrants they can’t steal your fire.

But when you start pushing this garbage about how "there’s nothing to celebrate" today, you’re becoming a damn cheerleader for apathy.

I’ve heard people say, "But I just can’t celebrate while people are suffering."

Bullshit.

People have always been suffering. Always. Did our ancestors wait until the war was over to celebrate? Did the civil rights marchers wait until they got all the votes counted to celebrate? Did soldiers in the trenches wait until every battle was won to have moments of joy…moments of purpose?

Hell no.

They needed those celebrations to keep going.

They needed those celebrations to remind themselves they weren’t fighting for nothing…they weren’t beaten…they weren’t done.

So to those who think they’re too righteous to celebrate today—if they think they’re above the fight—they need to step aside.

Because the people who actually give a damn about winning don't have time to babysit their pouty bullshit.

What’s really happening here is that a whole bunch of people have confused performative despair with moral high ground.

But here’s the dirty secret: the people leading that parade of despair? Most of them are just lazy.

They don’t want to do the real work of fighting for change. They want to sit on their asses and cry into the void because it's easier.

It's easier to complain than to organize.

It's easier to moan than to strategize.

It's easier to grieve than to lead.

Let me tell you something else most people don’t have the guts to say out loud:

When you emotionally anchor yourself in grief…you’re walking away from the driver’s seat. You’re parking your own damn bus in the breakdown lane and walking off.

Grief, by its nature, is a black hole…it pulls you in…it slows you down…and if you don’t check yourself…it paralyzes you.

You stay in that grieving mode long enough…and guess what? You start to see defeat as permanent. You start to think quitting is just "part of the process."

Grief left unchecked becomes the world’s most comfortable excuse to sit on the sidelines.

Momentum matters. Movements are built…fueled…and sustained by forward motion…not by national mourning sessions that drag on until everyone forgets what the hell they were fighting for in the first place.

When you let grief dominate…you’re teaching your own mind that stepping back is acceptable.

Worse, you’re teaching everyone watching you that quitting is okay. It’s NOT okay.

When I taught college-level psychology courses, this was one of my favorite things to introduce young people to. Many people still believe the Five Stages of Grief is the “Gold Standard.”

Here’s the truth: it has been repeatedly challenged and, in many ways, debunked by modern psychology and grief research. (I’ll do a separate article on this in the future.)

When people are trapped in an antiquated and inaccurate model for understanding grief….a lot of them wind up forming some really crazy and disabling beliefs about grief.

A big part of my joy has always been leading people to the more updated and useful models and ways of thinking about things.

Real leadership…the kind that wins wars…that topples regimes…that saves lives…looks like this: taking action while you’re scared. Celebrating while the sky is falling. Rallying people while you’re getting knocked around.

The idea that you have to "pause" for grief before you can fight again? That’s a luxury we don’t have.

You want to know what’s productive?

Here it is:

Instead of crying that the Fourth is meaningless…go out and register five people to vote.

Instead of sitting in your house whispering, "There’s nothing to celebrate," go knock on ten doors and find out what your neighbors need.

Instead of whining on social media that you’re too broken to care…go give someone else a reason to believe.

Instead of soaking in your hopelessness…go build some hope by building something that matters.

And for the love of God-and I’m Agnostic…so figure that out-stop telling people to be small today.

Stop telling people to surrender their joy.

Stop selling the lie that we must all sit in darkness just because the storm hasn’t passed.

Because that’s how you lose.

That’s how movements die.

That’s how the bad guys win…when you help them kill the spirit of the people fighting them.

You need to understand this: Excellence is not about feeling great every day. It’s about not stopping.

If you only fight when you're inspired….you're not a fighter. You're a hobbyist.

If you only push when you're comfortable…you're not a leader. You're a tourist.

Excellence is when you’ve got fifteen minutes…you’re exhausted…you’re demoralized… and you still do something that moves the ball forward.

That’s what will save us. Not performative grief. Not this sniveling, self-absorbed "I need to grieve today" nonsense.

You know what people in the trenches need from you? They need fire. They need examples. They need to see that we can celebrate and fight at the same time.

Because that's what winners do.

So yeah. Have an enjoyable Fourth of July. Celebrate it like hell.

And then keep moving. Keep building. Keep fighting.

Because if you don’t…if you join the chorus of defeat…you’re doing their work for them.

And frankly…we’ve got enough people already doing that.

Have a great night.

Jack