OPINION:
A definite vibe indicates that the semiquincentennial is not likely to be a wild celebration of all that is good in the United States.
I don’t really blame anyone, but it is apparent that there is not a lot of enthusiasm for whatever compulsory festivities are scheduled. Rather, it seems that Americans are going to commemorate Independence Day pretty much like they always do: small-town parades, fireworks, hanging out with the family in the backyard, going to the lake or the beach. Maybe drinking a little too much.
It was much the same during the bicentennial in 1976. Then, as now, lots of things were going wrong. A little more than a year before that particular July Fourth, we definitively lost our first war, as the entire nation watched helicopters evacuate what was left of South Vietnam off the roof of the embassy in Saigon.
The U.S. economy was in the ditch, and we were suffering under the yoke of the Arab petro tyranny. The Soviets looked unbeatable.
We were being led by an unelected president (Gerald Ford), and although we didn’t know it then, we were about to elect an even worse replacement in the person of James Earl Carter of Georgia. He would lead us into economic chaos, another oil embargo and, finally, the staggering humiliation of the hostages in Iran.
Things were so bad in 1976 that Nelson Rockefeller was vice president.
Still, we celebrated the 200th birthday of the nation despite a widespread sense that things had really gone wrong, and there was no assurance that they would ever get put right again.
Our challenges in 2026 are different, but they pose the same kinds of risks to the long-term viability of the nation. Our national debt, troublesome 50 years ago, is now a material threat to the country.
Political division is more egregious than at any other time since before the Civil War. Red and blue states are divided on issues such as economic performance and birth rates. We face epidemic-scale loneliness and mental illness as humanity fades in the shadow of the machines.
Our “leaders” have become part of the problem.
Yet we will celebrate Independence Day anyway, because American citizens are confident about the future, whether that confidence is warranted or not. So far, it has been. Most of us are here because a relative, distant or near, had the gumption and the optimism to get onto a boat or a plane or pull on his or her shoes and get here and become part of the great American experiment.
None of those people came here to fail. We should not defile their memory by accepting failure either.
Finally, two truths bracket Independence Day celebrations. First, other than Christmas, Americans tend to prefer low-key celebrations. We are just not likely to sing and dance in the streets, no matter what the provocation.
Second, and more important, Americans understand that sometimes things go well and sometimes things go poorly. The important thing is to keep pressing onward and to do so with some degree of stoicism. Very few people want to hear complaints.
That commitment to even-keel approaches and an aversion to complaining is probably a welcome remnant of the stern and sturdy Anglo-Saxons and Scots-Irish who settled this land and built this country. Good for them, and good for us.
So, this Fourth of July, be grateful for whoever is responsible for your being here and maintain, to the maximum extent possible, optimism about our country’s future. Reject those who encourage you to short-sell the United States. Our best days are still ahead.
• Michael McKenna is a contributing editor at The Washington Times.
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