Editor’s Note: What Is There To Celebrate?

It’s been hard to miss the giant 250 splashed across nearly everything this summer. Towns are putting up banners announcing special 250th Fourth of July celebrations, history channels have dusted off every revolutionary documentary they ever aired, local theatre troupes slotted in 1776 as their summer show, and a trip to the store can grant you access to a special Oreo flavor to celebrate the big anniversary. (It’s firecracker popsicle for those playing along at home.)

Of course the anniversary was inevitable, but I think we can all admit that the timing of it is less than desirable. After a year where we have seen our neighbors kidnapped, protesters murdered, voting rights stripped away, and the continuation of an authoritarian takeover, it can be hard to get excited about the good ‘ole U.S. of A. 

Let’s just look at the wonders of this year alone. Scores of people kidnapped and killed by masked ICE agents, entering into a prolonged war with Iran over a military and missile program that we allegedly “obliterated” last year, killing hundreds of people (including a school filled with children) in the process, an incursion into the country of Venezuela to capture its president so then we could do what again? Not to mention the near-daily announcements of jobs being tossed aside because they were offering people some assistance, allegiances questioned, and financial aid being held in check because you don’t say his name with the right amount of reverence.

So we’re left wondering what exactly are we celebrating? Is it the America that we used to be, who we are today, or who we can be? Yes the center of each of those options is the same, but it’s how we view it that makes the difference. The reason that so many have taken to the streets in the past year and written letters and made phone calls for the first time is because of that difference. It’s been because of a belief in the promise of what we can become.

America was never perfect. Even in the distant reaches of our memories, just off screen, there are cracks in the facade. Slavery, women’s rights, the struggle of the LGBTQI community, the fights of labor unions, Jim Crow laws, an insistence in telling other parts of the world what’s best for them, often by force. We’ve always recognized this part of ourselves and, at our best, tried to patch over it or we’ve gone at those faults with a jackhammer. 

As we contemplate the 250th anniversary, we’re really contemplating which tool we want to pick up next. And we need to do so quickly because the pillars of this nation, pillars which we built up collectively, are being torn down at an alarming (and non-discriminate) pace. The question becomes do we want to fix what we have or just tear it all down? It’s easy to blow something up but to build something, or in the case of our current situation rebuild something, that’s difficult. And it is not going to happen overnight or in bold strokes, but in small acts. 

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” – Robert Francis Kennedy, 1966.

Yellow Scene’s 2026 Summer Support Drive is underway with a goal of 1,000 Sustaining Supporters by summer’s end.

For 26 years, we have remained fiercely independent, free from sponsored content and outside editorial influence.

Reader-driven support keeps local journalism unbossed, unbought, and our journalists fed. Become a sustaining supporter for $8/month and get Yellow Scene delivered to your home.

Join the Summer Support Drive and keep local journalism strong.