America250 is not a moment for brooding or embarrassment
There is a strange mood around America’s 250th birthday. Most of us have noticed it to some degree.
We’ve seen the social media chatter or articles about it not feeling like a big deal or let down. I wasn’t around for the Bicentennial but undoubtedly that collective celebration will be seen as more unified given our hyper-political era.
For some, America250 seems like just another politicized event. It means more arguments to fight about on social media. And for others, the very idea of celebrating America seems embarrassing. Many of those people are angry about politics or the president, understanding he will be a big part of the official pomp and pageantry.
But something basic I’ve always felt is America is nothing to be embarrassed about.
We’re the nation that stormed beaches and freed continents from totalitarian ideologies.
I grew up on Strategic Air Command military bases in the 1980s. So when I think about America, I do not immediately jump straight to politics. I still think about the national anthem playing before movies. I think about families who understood sacrifice, and the roar of bombers and fighter jets on the flight line at a time when the Cold War was still very real.
I remember my dad sitting alert in underground bunkers with nuclear weapons ready to respond to an attack. We’d have to go through three or four security checkpoints just to visit or have dinner with him. Sometimes my dad, probably when it was allowed, would take me out on the flight line to watch planes like B-52s and FB-111s land.
There was a seriousness to that time. There was also more unity, at least in my world on base.
Of course, it was far from perfect. But there was more of a shared understanding that this country was worth defending. That freedom was precious. That America had enemies abroad, but also a purpose in the world.
I miss some of that. Not that we should be a nation about foreign intervention, that’s not what I mean, but the purpose was a little more ingrained in the daily rhythms of life. And I think a lot of Americans miss some of that. At least the ones that can remember that time.
At American Habits, we often tell stories about the communities, legislators, and ordinary citizens who make this country go. Those stories matter because America is not merely an idea written on parchment, as important as those founding principles are. America is first and foremost her people.
We defend the idea that all men are created equal. And if you still understand that our rights come not from government, but from God, you should pat yourself on the back. We defend the idea that free citizens can govern themselves.
We should still believe those truths because it’s the engine that has made America so great.
So for all the problems and division, I’m not really interested in meeting America250 with apologies or brooding. I don’t want to be a part of any energy oriented toward managing American decline or disinterest. We’re still heirs to a great republic. And we are all responsible for carrying it forward. After all, it’s a huge part of why I’m here.
—Ray Nothstine
— The Federalism Beat