How Can We Celebrate Our Nation When We Hate Each Other?

Americans no longer trust one another, and for an entire generation, this is how it has always been

In less than a couple of weeks, the United States will celebrate its 250^th birthday. A president incapable of civic good will preside over inevitably gaudy, self-aggrandizing, and perhaps polarizing festivities. In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed that this year’s July 4^th will be “the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all.”

But even without Trump’s polarizing presence, the 250^th anniversary of our country’s independence would probably have been a fairly muted celebration. Fewer Americans today feel an affinity for their country. Over the last decade, American pride in the country has plummeted. For most of the recent past, Americans have been exceptionally proud of their country, regardless of which political party occupied the White House. Gallup polls show that from 2001 to 2016, at least eight in ten Americans said they were very or extremely proud to be American. These feelings diminished rapidly after Donald Trump was first elected in 2016, stabilizing somewhat after he left…