The United States is rapidly approaching its 250th anniversary, a milestone that will undoubtedly fill streets across the nation with fireworks, parades, and grand speeches about liberty. Yet, for a significant portion of the population, this upcoming semiquincentennial does not feel like a milestone worth celebrating; instead, it carries a heavy sense of emotional exhaustion. If you look at the glittering ideals of America and feel a deep sense of disconnect, tiredness, or disillusionment, it is essential to realize that you are not alone. From a liberation and decolonial counseling perspective, these feelings are not a psychological malfunction. Rather, your disillusionment is a healthy, accurate, and deeply intuitive response to a painful historical and present reality: the “American Dream” was never structured to belong to everyone equally.
Traditional mental health frameworks often pathologize our pain, telling us that if we are anxious, depressed, or alienated, the problem resides entirely inside our own heads. We are routinely told to practice mindfulness, reframe our negative thoughts, or simply work harder to overcome our struggles. However, liberation psychology, pioneered by foundational thinkers like Ignacio Martín-Baró, completely flips this individualistic script by recognizing that psychological distress is often a direct and logical result of living within oppressive social systems. When we critically examine the core ideals of the United States—freedom, equality, and justice—we expose a profound historical contradiction, as these concepts were conceptualized by men who actively enslaved human beings and colonized Indigenous lands. Because this societal system was designed from its inception to distribute safety, wealth, and wellness unequally based on race, class, and gender, forcing yourself to navigate it creates a deep psychological rift (Hook et al., 2023). You are constantly told you can achieve anything through merit, yet you are forced to witness your community face systemic barriers like housing discrimination, underfunded schools, and disproportionate policing.
In the realm of decolonial counseling, we refuse to view your disillusionment as a symptom of a mental health disorder, choosing instead to honor it as a profound form of political and emotional awakening. Feeling cynical or disconnected is an explicit acknowledgment of truth because you are actively refusing to accept a polished, corporate version of history that erases ongoing systemic harm. Forcing yourself to celebrate a myth takes an immense amount of psychological energy, meaning that your exhaustion is completely valid, and it often goes hand-in-hand with a deep sense of grief over the fact that the place you call home does not protect you the way it protects others. When the dominant culture demands that you celebrate America’s 250th birthday, but your daily lived reality tells you that your labor is exploited or your body is unsafe, your refusal to conform is a sign of psychological health. It means your internal compass is functioning perfectly, allowing you to clearly see the vast, unjust gap between what this country promises and what it actually delivers.
Decolonial healing is never about finding a way to happily fit into an unjust system, but rather about actively reclaiming your humanity, identity, and peace outside of its rigid demands. To care for your mental health during this national milestone, you must first stop individualizing your structural pain and remind yourself that your stress, burnout, and anxiety are natural reactions to a culture built on colonization, not personal failures (Watkins & Shulman, 2008). Because colonization thrives by isolating individuals, true healing happens when we reject isolation and seek out community anchors, sharing our grief, stories, and anger with safe people who see the world the same way we do. Ultimately, you do not have to wait for an oppressive system to give you permission to feel free; you can redefine liberation on your own terms through small acts of daily resistance, such as resting when the system demands hustle, honoring your ancestral roots, and fiercely protecting your joy. The upcoming semiquincentennial does not require your compliance, your patriotism, or your celebration, because your disillusionment is not a deficit; it is the fertile ground from which a truer, deeper sense of collective freedom can finally grow.
References
Hook, J. N., Davis, D. E., Owen, J., & DeBlaere, C. (2023). Cultural humility: Engaging diverse identities in therapy. American Psychological Association.
Martín-Baró, I. (1994). Writings for a liberation psychology (A. Aron & S. Corne, Eds.). Harvard University Press.
Watkins, M., & Shulman, H. (2008). Toward psychologies of liberation. Palgrave Macmillan.