America 250

Don't Let the Country's Wet Blankets Ruin Independence Day

The country is battered, but it still offers freedom to live our lives.

J.D. Tuccille | 6.26.2026 7:00 AM

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Leading up to our Independence Day party, my wife asked whether she should buy us T-shirts celebrating America's 250th anniversary or stick with what we already have. We went with our existing garments. When the red, white, and blue string lights are up and the Gadsden flag is flying out front, my son will don his free speech shirt, my wife will wear one with USA printed across it, and my shirt will show an image of George Washington crossing the Delaware and text reading: "Americans. Willing to cross a frozen river to kill you. In your sleep. On Christmas. Not kidding, we've done it."

It will be festive.

You are reading The Rattler from J.D. Tuccille and Reason. Get more of J.D.'s commentary on government overreach and threats to everyday liberty.

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National Gloom

But not everybody shares our enthusiasm for celebrating the nation's birthday and the liberty at the core of its founding philosophy. Frankly, some folks are pretty glum about the whole thing. Angry at each other, disappointed with the government, and pessimistic about the future, too many of our friends and neighbors seem to have given up on the whole experiment—although there are signs of hope.

"Most people have told us they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States and that they think the country's best days are behind us," Pew Research recently noted of its polling over the past year. "And when asked to look ahead to 2050, upward of half of U.S. adults say they think the economy will be weaker, the U.S. will be less important in the........

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