As America celebrates 249 years of independence, it’s possible we’re witnessing its final Independence Day as a democratic republic. Today, as we teeter on the brink of fascism, it feels as equally likely as not that by America’s semiquincentennial, the country will have plummeted over the edge.

I tend to anticipate success in any endeavor, but I also see and articulate the dozen ways something will fail—usually long before others—so I focus on how that success can be thwarted. That is, I plan for the failures. Some might call me a pessimist. That often means I must Cassandra my way through life, surrounded by well-meaning Pollyannas.

It’s a challenge to believe that this country—despite surviving slavery, a civil war, a Great Depression, and Jim Crow—can survive this MAGA moment.

But I am choosing today to express optimism—tempered though it is—about the future of America.

It’s required of me.

As a naturalized citizen, July 4th has a different meaning to me than it might to natural-born Americans. Independence Day isn’t about fireworks (I abhor them) or patriotism (no stars-and-stripes clothing for me). Rather, I think back to the founding principles that led to the Declaration of Independence, as enumerated by the questions on my naturalization test. These bedrock principles—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; the freedom to peaceably assemble; the exercise of free speech; rights of due process; and, especially, the unflinching strive toward “a more perfect union”—are what I honor on this Fourth of July.

I also reflect on the fact that to become a citizen of these United States of America, I took an oath—an oath only naturalized Americans must take.

Natural-born Americans have no requirement to declare, freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, that they will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that they will bear true faith and allegiance to the country—thus solemnizing their citizenship.

Taking this oath is an actum deliberatum—a deliberate act—a declaration of our intent to expand the American tapestry. Citizenship is not something we take for granted, and “America” is not an idea we abandon easily.

My oath means I must—and do—have faith in her ability to recover from whatever ails her, because this is our country and our democracy—we must protect it and pass it on.

So Happy 249th Birthday, America. Your next birthday may mark a turning point in your history. Will you plunge fully into darkness, or return triumphantly into the light? We, the people are feverishly working to ensure your 250th is a jubilant celebration of your rebirth as a nation of liberty, justice—and hope—for all.