As people across the United States commemorate the Fourth of July with beach trips, fireworks, and barbeques, there is a semblance of unity among people of all backgrounds in this country. We all have a reason to celebrate — not just the United States’ independence, but also a much-needed extended weekend.

Published in the midst of this temporary concord, this issue of InTheFray highlights those who don’t quite fit in, those who are — both literally and figuratively — strangers to the space they occupy and the air they breathe. In Ayesha and me, we see what happens when ITF Contributing Editor Anju Mary Paul attempts to understand the experiences of a young Muslim immigrant. What she discovers about being “American” and being Muslim isn’t what you — or our immigrant-reporter — might expect. The same could be said for ITF columnist Russ Cobb. During a road trip from Texas to California, he confronts the Red State/Blue State divide head-on, only to discover that the 2004 election results don’t tell the full story of American politics.

Across the pond, meanwhile, American transplant Karen Ling discovers a way to compensate for her feelings of inadequacy in Paris — helping American tourists who have an even tougher time fitting in. And in Tofu and toast, Rhian Kohashi O’Rourke explores, through her eyes, what it means to be an outsider for her aging grandfather who has become a foreigner to his own life.

For those who still feel like they belong, Dave A. Zimmerman challenges you to think again. In Everything silly is serious again, he explores how Batman Begins gives us a taste of a comic book character quite different from the one we grew up with. Silly or serious, though, the newest Batman, Zimmerman contends, plants the seeds of truth about our own lives.

Happy reading!

Laura Nathan
Editor
Brooklyn, New York

Laura Nathan-Garner