Stars, Stripes & Selective Memory — The Fear of Becoming What You Created

Hey y’all.

Let’s talk about fear — not the kind that jumps out of dark corners,

but the kind that hides behind flags and headlines.

Because tell me this:

Why is America — a nation built by immigrants, refugees, and runaways — so damn afraid of immigration now?

Why is “the border” a crisis when the whole country is a border, drawn through blood, greed, and erasure?

Could it be that deep down, people know how this story ends?

That the same way their ancestors came here, took what wasn’t theirs, and pushed out those who were —

they know that karma’s patient?

They know exactly what it looks like to lose control of a place you never really owned.

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🧠 The Fear Beneath the Flag

Your ancestors came here running — from famine, persecution, and systems that treated them like dirt.

They escaped tyranny, only to rebuild it under a new name.

They became the very thing they claimed to hate.

And generations later, their descendants are terrified that someone might do the same to them.

That’s what this “fear of the immigrant” really is.

Not a fear of invasion.

A fear of reflection.

Because when your lineage was built on taking —

the idea of someone taking from you hits different.

It’s not paranoia.

It’s projection.

It’s guilt dressed up as patriotism.

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🪞 The Cultural Mirror

Fast forward to now.

You’ve got people screaming “The immigrants are coming!” like Paul Revere 2.0 —

forgetting that their granddaddy was the immigrant.

If the revolution happened today, no one would be on horseback.

They’d be on TikTok Live with “Breaking News” overlays,

a donation link, and a “Save America” hoodie in their merch store.

But here’s the kicker — there is no revolution.

There’s just noise from the same kind of people who justified their own invasion centuries ago.

They say “We’re losing our culture,”

but what they really mean is,

“We’re losing control.”

Because back then, your ancestors could cross an ocean and pretend they “discovered” something new.

Now?

There’s nowhere left to run.

The world has receipts.

The internet made history searchable.

Colonialism doesn’t disappear when it’s on camera.

You can’t rewrite the story when the footage exists.

And no one’s about to let you do to them what your ancestors did to others.

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

Fool me three times? Not in 4K, not in real time, not in this generation.

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🏛️ The Truth Check

Patriotism today feels like performance art.

Loud. Branded. Rehearsed.

People wave flags louder than they protect people.

They quote the Constitution but ignore the contradiction.

Freedom sounds beautiful — until you ask who had to bleed for it.

And if people really believed in it that much,

would they still fight for it now?

Or only when it’s convenient?

Because the same folks yelling “keep them out”

forget that Paul Revere, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson

were all immigrants by another name —

settlers on stolen ground.

And I keep coming back to this question:

If Paul Revere were alive today… which side would he stand on?

Would he ride through the streets yelling,

> “The immigrants are coming!”

Or would he ride with them — shoulder to shoulder — saying,

> “Don’t make the same mistake we did.”

Because here’s the truth:

If he supported immigration, then his descendants are betraying his legacy today.

And if he didn’t, then he’s a hypocrite.

Because he was the immigrant —

standing on land that was never his to claim in the first place.

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🔚 The Closing Reflection

So maybe this isn’t really about borders.

Maybe it’s about mirrors.

Because every time we talk about “protecting the country,”

what we’re really doing is protecting the narrative.

And the thing about history —

it doesn’t forget.

It just waits for you to look in the mirror long enough to recognize what you’ve become.

This country was built by people who ran from oppression,

then rebranded that oppression with better marketing.

And now their great-great-grandkids are terrified

that the cycle’s coming back around.

But here’s the thing — there’s nowhere left to run.

No untouched land.

No new world.

No unknowing eyes.

So if you really love this country,

prove it by learning from it — not hiding behind it.

Because flags fade.

Power shifts.

But truth?

Truth doesn’t go anywhere.

And maybe that’s the real fear —

not that the immigrants are coming,

but that history finally is.