America’s 250th is worth celebrating — even if you didn’t vote for Trump | Opinion
If you’ve driven on Interstate 95 lately, you’ve probably seen the signs reminding drivers, “The USA is 250, but the speed limit is not.” Then there’s the billboard that features the Statue of Liberty proclaiming “1776 Champs.”
The reminders of America’s 250 anniversary of independence from Great Britain are everywhere. The Declaration of Independence was the ultimate breakup letter — one that even Taylor Swift can’t hold a candle to it.
And it’s a milestone worth celebrating.
Yet, depending on who you talk to in Miami, the approaching semiquincentennial isn’t being met with the universal excitement. For some, it’s being met with frustration and dismay.
I understand. Trust in institutions has eroded, and at times the country feels more divided than ever. Some people feel the nation is moving backward, not forward. Others are aghast that President Donald Trump is the leader who will usher our nation into the next 250 years. For his critics, that fact alone dampens the occasion.
But you don’t have to be satisfied with where America is to celebrate what America is.
In The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865-1915, historian Jon Grinspan chronicles an America many of us wouldn’t recognize. It was one of the most turbulent periods in the nation’s history. The political divisions of the 19th century were often violent. Members of Congress physically fought one another. Following Abraham Lincoln’s presidential election in 1860, seven states seceded from the Union before he took office. The nation literally split apart.
After the Civil War, America was shaken by economic and technological upheaval that fueled tribal partisanship. Later generations had their own trials — the Great Depression, two world wars, political assassinations and social unrest. History shows us that Americans who lived through those eras didn’t stop pushing for a better country. They celebrated and fought at the same time.
And we can too.
Today’s challenges deserve perspective, but that doesn’t mean dismissing legitimate concerns. Concern isn’t unpatriotic. Demanding that America does better and lives up to its founding ideals is one of the most patriotic things a person can do.
I still believe America is the greatest country in the world. It’s a conviction I’ve held through political campaigns I’ve worked on and through presidential administrations I supported and ones I didn’t.
America was founded on a radical idea: Ordinary people can govern themselves. It was revolutionary in 1776 and in 2026, it remains a great experiment in self-governance — one we continue working on.
Guardrails have been tested, some bent, others broken. But the Constitution has endured.
Elections still occur, courts issue rulings and citizens remain free to protest, vote and advocate for causes they believe in. That resilience is the story of the United States. It’s the result of generations before us who refused to give up on American democracy.
Miami is playing a role in the celebration, one of eight cities chosen to host the Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents that forged a nation. For South Floridians, it’s an opportunity to see firsthand some of the records that shaped the America. The traveling exhibit brings some of America’s most important founding documents for a rare display at the Museum of Miami beginning June 20.
Those documents are a reminder that America’s story is greater than any one president. They reflect the principles our nation was founded on and what it is has faced. The Fourth of July isn’t about who occupies the Oval Office. It’s a celebration of the independence of our nation and the ideals that have sustained it for 250 years.
You can disagree with the direction of the country and still believe in its ability to course-correct.
At 250, America isn’t perfect. It remains a great experiment — one worth celebrating and fighting for.
Mary Anna Mancuso is a member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board. Her email: mmancuso@miamiherald.com