BOLD's Brit-Born COO on Why He Loves the Fourth

I love July 4th. I love the fireworks, I love the decorations, I love the “Americana” of it, and I obviously love the food. It’s the epitome of everything that I thought about America as a kid living in a very rainy England.

But I also LOVE England. It’s my history, my heritage, my extended family is all there, I love the culture, the countryside, the castles (trying to think of another C word….) I just love going “home” every time I visit.

So, as we approach July 4th – I consider myself absolutely blessed – because I get to see both worlds, love both worlds & celebrate both worlds. Whilst I used to joke that on July 4th I planned to dress up in my best ‘Hamilton’ George III outfit, get out my extra-large 240 pack of PG tips tea bags and throw them at every person I meet (“see if you like it back at you” I planned to say), I never did. Because what I love about July 4th is it CELEBRATES everything great about being American, being democratic & free, and I want to celebrate that too.

Without being boring, one of the best historical arguments I ever read was that one of the main drivers of America becoming independent was because England & English Immigrants had democracy, the right to self-rule, and the rule of law as guiding principles. It was in their DNA.

Last year we proudly became American citizens (after living here for 11 years). The way I think about it is I now have two “homes,” the home I was born in & love, and the home I chose and love. I get to see & celebrate the best of both (and there is truly great in both, plus being honest stuff to work on in both).

The UK does some stuff different that I love (for example we have fireworks on Nov 5th – to celebrate burning a man alive for breaking into parliament…kids love it…but that’s a blog for another day).

But one of the things I love so much about my “other” home is that you celebrate being YOU, being American. You are proud of yourself as a nation, as a people and you should be. In this day and age of social media, it’s too easy to focus on differences and problems – July 4th is an opportunity to celebrate what makes us PEOPLE, human, a nation, a country, an identity.

So, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE July 4th. I have my star-spangled pants (I will leave to you to decide if that is the British or American version), I will have my flags, I plan on eating a lot of BBQ, Mac & Cheese and all the amazing sides. I will watch the fireworks, and I will consider myself blessed to live here.

Matt Parry is BOLD's COO.  He has lived in America for more than a decade and last year, he and his family became American citizens.