Two hundred and fifty years is a long time for any nation to survive, let alone thrive — and as I close out this series, I want to step back and look at the whole picture. Over these past weeks we have walked through Memorial Day's quiet grief, the founders' often-overlooked faith, the true meaning of the melting pot and the painful chapter of how we treated the first Americans, the crises that nearly broke this country at every turn, and Nebraska's own remarkable contribution to the whole story. Taken together, they add up to something simple: this nation has earned the right to call itself exceptional, not because we are perfect, but because of what we have done despite our imperfections.
I'll be direct about something that concerns me. There is a growing trend in American life to tear down rather than build up. There are too many who treat this country's history as a list of grievances rather than a record of progress. Partisan bickering has become its own industry, rewarding the loudest voices rather than the most honest ones. And a certain brand of ideology, often dressed up as compassion, spends its energy sorting Americans into competing categories of victim and oppressor rather than uniting us around what we actually share. I covered that danger directly when we talked about the melting pot — true diversity was never about permanent division, it was about people from everywhere choosing to become one people. That idea is under real strain today, and it deserves defending, not abandoning.
But strain is not new to us, and that is the whole point of this series. We have been tested by civil war, by economic collapse, by world wars, by assassinations, by the kind of social upheaval that makes today's headlines look almost tame by comparison. Every single time, the better angels President Lincoln spoke of eventually won out, and the country came back stronger and freer than before. From the Civil War to Nebraska’s own Chief Standing Bear we have extended rights once denied. We built institutions like our own unicameral legislature designed to do the people's business honestly. None of that happened because we papered over our problems. It happened because we kept faith with the project even while we argued fiercely about how to improve it.
While we face our own inner criticisms and degradation it’s been refreshing to enjoy the visitors to this nation here for the World Cup enjoying all that America has to offer. The videos online showing foreigners marveling at simple things we take for granted has been enlightening. Things like air conditioning, free refills at a restaurant, giant convenience stores, ranch dressing, BBQ, open roads, and our scenery and monuments. It’s as if thousands of Alexis De Toqueville’s have descended upon us to write home about America’s greatness. It’s unfortunate too many of us take our uniqueness and greatness for granted.
We have a 250-year pattern of confronting what is wrong and getting closer to what is right. From the riderless horse on Constitution Avenue for remembrance of our fallen, to the steeples that still anchor our small towns, to the immigrant families who came through the front door and built lives here, to the cattle and corn that feed the world, to the airmen at Offutt who still stand watch over our security — this country has given an extraordinary amount to the world and asked relatively little in return. We ARE exceptional. We have proven we can push forward in pursuit of our god-given human rights. Let's continue in that direction looking inward first. What can I do to help pave the path of our nation forward?
As we celebrate the Fourth of July and 250 years of American life, I hope everyone will pause the partisan noise for a day and simply be proud. We have earned it.
John Adams stated to his wife Abigail in a letter how he thought Independence Day ought to be observed, “It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shows, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more." Let’s remember the day as Adams envisioned.
Happy birthday, America. Here's to the next 250 years.
