We are free from British rule. We are free from being enslaved. We are free to bear arms. We seem to be free to impose restrictions on female reproductive health or on what LGBTQ+ people can or cannot do or on who can't read certain books. We seem to be free to distort the truth, to make up ridiculous conspiracy theories, to bully others. We are free to make it more difficult for some people to vote, but we can still vote - mostly - so get out there and do it! Every election. It's easy in the State of Washington. It doesn't take long to fill out your ballot. It doesn't cost anything to mail your ballot. So just do it.
But in the meantime, it is okay to go to a parade. To come home and fire up the barbecue. To enjoy the fireworks. To vow to do all that you can to preserve our democracy.
Here are some books on democracy:
The assault on reason / Gore, Albert, 973.931 GOR
Demagoguery and democracy / Roberts-Miller, Patricia, 320.973 ROB
Generation we : how millennial youth are taking over America and changing our world forever / Greenberg, Eric H. 305.242 GRE
On tyranny : twenty lessons from the twentieth century / Snyder, Timothy. 321.9 SNY
The religion of democracy : seven liberals and the American moral tradition / Kittelstrom, Amy, 261.7 KIT