By Guy Denton
Saturday, July 04, 2026
This weekend, America’s 250th birthday deserves an
explosive, unapologetic national celebration. Apparently, though, many of those
fortunate enough to call this country home won’t be joining the party.
In recent weeks, celebrities and political figures have offered predictable
twaddle about America’s supposed wickedness. Robert De Niro, evoking a senile
Travis Bickle, equated modern patriotism with domestic violence: “I hate
to say it, but loving our country is starting to sound like an abused spouse
saying they love their abuser.” Joy Reid derided Independence Day as a “celebration of
slaveholders.” And Gavin Newsom declared, “The Founding Fathers did not live and die for
this moment. I can’t celebrate July 4th.”
Such negativity isn’t simply a luxury belief. A slew of
new polls have shown widespread public pessimism toward America and its future.
Would the signers of the Declaration of Independence be satisfied with the
modern United States? Do the country’s best years still lie ahead? Is democracy
in a healthy state? In the eyes of the majority, the answer to all of these questions is a
decisive no. One in five Americans don’t even plan to mark the Fourth of
July this year.
This moment of bad feelings, however, is absurd on its
face. America, for all its flaws and complexities, remains a singularly
magnificent nation whose promise is alive and well. Anyone who considers it too
tainted to celebrate should be brought back to reality.
Certainly, things are not perfect, and we should
recognize our various ills. Our political culture has grown frantic, and
rabid polarization rules the day. Our formative institutions — families,
schools, and local communities — are in decline, and this decay has left many
Americans adrift. Our system of government is threatened by dysfunction.
But these problems are surmountable, and history suggests
that they will be solved. Americans have made a remarkable habit of overcoming
far greater challenges. With each year, the United States has moved closer
toward fully realizing the promise of its founding. Ingenuity, courage, and a
commitment to first principles have guided that evolution for 250 years. The
thought of where they will lead us over the next 250 should stir full-throated
excitement.
American life today is noisy. Smartphones perpetually
consume our attention, bombarding us with horrifying headlines and drawing us
into vitriolic social-media arguments. But in the real world, America’s civil
society is enviably vibrant, and its culture is defined by friendliness and
generosity. When I step outside and talk to ordinary Americans — be it in
suburban Virginia, or in New York City, or in South Florida — I seldom
encounter cynicism or resentment. Instead, I am continually amazed by their warmth,
humor, and kindness. In the “real America,” I don’t see a nation on the verge
of collapse. I see a uniquely open and prosperous country, rich with greater
opportunity than anywhere else can offer, that remains the world’s great beacon
of liberty and abundance.
What’s more, I see a country that offers staggering
diversity. America is a land of sprawling deserts, towering mountains, verdant
forests, and majestic cities. It’s a place where the opera is as easily
attended as a wrestling match. Its food, weather, music, and literature are
spectacular. Its culture is innovative, dynamic, and endlessly surprising. Its
Constitution is the most perceptive political document ever composed, and its
institutions of government endure despite new attacks.
Fleeting difficulties may threaten the American promise,
but they should not deter us from championing everything that makes this
country extraordinary. The wisdom of the Declaration of Independence is as true
today as ever, and it has brought us to a time of extraordinary human
flourishing. July 4, 2026, is a moment to reflect on all that America has
provided, and all that is still to come.
Let’s celebrate.
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