America Should Be More Like Bikers

As America celebrates 250 years of freedom, perhaps the motorcycle community has something to teach us about respect, liberty, and the First Amendment.

By Laurie Montoya
President & Founder, BikerDown Foundation
Editor, Motorcycle Rider News

Freedom Isn’t Just a Word

As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, I’ve found myself thinking about freedom. Not the kind that’s argued about on television. Not the kind debated on social media. I’m talking about the kind you feel when you throw a leg over your motorcycle, fire up the engine, and point it toward the horizon. For riders, freedom has never been just a word.

It’s a feeling.

And maybe that’s why I believe America could learn something from the motorcycle community.

The Open Road Doesn’t Judge

Somewhere along the way, we’ve become a nation that’s quicker to judge than to listen. Too often, a different opinion becomes a reason to label someone rather than to try to understand them. We’ve forgotten that disagreeing with someone doesn’t make them our enemy. Walk through any motorcycle rally, bike night, charity ride, or roadside diner, and you’ll find riders from every walk of life. Republicans. Democrats. Independents. Veterans. Teachers. Mechanics. Business owners. People of every race, religion, and background.

Do we all agree? Of course not, but we still ride together.
The open road has never asked who you voted for.
It doesn’t care what political party you belong to.
It doesn’t care what church you attend, what news station you watch, or what social media platform you post on.
It doesn’t care whether you ride a Harley-Davidson, Indian, Honda, BMW, Ducati, Triumph, Can-Am, or anything in between.

The road simply reminds us that we’re all chasing the same thing. Freedom.

The First Amendment Belongs to All of Us

As riders, we’ve always understood something that sometimes feels forgotten in today’s world. Respecting someone isn’t the same as agreeing with them. In fact, one of the greatest freedoms we have as Americans is the right to disagree. As our nation celebrates 250 years, I hope we remember that the First Amendment wasn’t written to protect opinions everyone agrees with. Those opinions don’t need protection. The First Amendment is at its strongest when it protects the opinions that challenge us, frustrate us, and sometimes even offend us. That doesn’t mean every opinion is right. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t challenge ideas or engage in spirited debate.

It means every American has the right to express their beliefs without fear of government punishment simply because someone else disagrees. Around the world today, there are countries where criticizing those in power, expressing an unpopular opinion, or participating in peaceful protest can lead to imprisonment—or worse. While America continues to wrestle with difficult issues—as every democracy does—the freedoms protected by our Constitution remain extraordinary and are worth appreciating. Freedom isn’t something we inherited by accident. It was earned through sacrifice.

And one of the best ways we honor that sacrifice is by protecting the rights of others—even when we disagree with what they have to say.

What Bikers Already Know

Maybe that’s why bikers have always seemed different. We’ve sat around campfires with people whose lives look nothing like our own. We’ve laughed together. We’ve argued. We’ve solved the world’s problems over a cup of coffee. Then we got up the next morning and rode together anyway. Because what brings us together has always been greater than what divides us. The motorcycle community has never been about thinking alike. It’s been about respecting one another enough to share the road.

Imagine if America worked a little more like that.

Imagine if we could disagree passionately without assuming the worst about one another. Imagine if we spent less time trying to win arguments and more time trying to understand each other.

A Quarter Millennium of Freedom

As America celebrates 250 years, I hope every one of us takes a moment to be proud of this country. Not because we’re perfect. Not because we always agree. But because, for nearly two and a half centuries, we’ve continued striving toward the ideals of liberty, self-government, and freedom of expression.

Those freedoms belong to every American.
Not just the people who think like we do.
Not just the people we agree with.
All of us.

That’s something worth celebrating this Independence Day.

Maybe America Should Be More Like Bikers

This Fourth of July, celebrate our freedom. Celebrate the riders beside you. Wave to the motorcycle coming the other direction. Sit around a campfire with someone whose life may look completely different from your own. You may discover that what unites us is far greater than what divides us. Because after all these years, the motorcycle community still understands one simple truth.