On July 4th, the United States turned 250. A few years ago, India celebrated 75 years of independence, both nations having won their freedom from the same colonial power. I’ve lived roughly one-third of India’s independent history there and about one-tenth of America’s here.
I arrived here shortly after 9/11, became a citizen in 2016, and had the privilege of serving our community as an elected official. Along the way I’ve reinvented myself many times — son to father, engineer to entrepreneur, consultant to community builder, immigrant to citizen, executive to nonprofit leader. That journey has taught me something: renewal is necessary for progress.
These days I often hear people say America has lost its shine. It’s made me reflect on this deeply. As someone who chose this country and this community, I see this moment differently.
America’s greatest strength has never been perfection. It has been the willingness to confront its own contradictions and keep going. Every generation inherited an unfinished country. Every generation was asked to do something about it. That’s not a flaw in the design, it is the design itself.
Like the challenges of the past – slavery, civil war, world wars, economic depression/recessions – the challenges ahead are real and immense. Political polarization, economic uncertainty, geopolitical and demographic shifts, and artificial intelligence are reshaping our lives faster than we can track. The pace and promise of the current change is both scary and exciting, But I’ve seen versions of this disruption before. The people who fared best weren’t the ones with all the answers. They were the ones willing to keep learning.
I approach this moment with gratitude. Gratitude doesn’t require believing a country is perfect. It means honestly accounting for what it has given you and accepting the responsibility to give something back. America gave me the chance to build a career, raise a family, and serve a community in ways I never imagined when I first arrived in this country. That’s extraordinary.
On this 250th birthday, I choose optimism – from the knowledge that this country has navigated worse and kept moving. The American experiment endures because each generation found the will to renew it.
That work belongs to us now.
Ravi Parakkat
Oak Park