JoshiesWorld celebrates this milestone with each of you. Today, July 4, 2026, marks the 250th birthday of the United States of America, which declared independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. We only get to celebrate a 250th birthday once, and I hope that fifty years from now, we’re still around to celebrate the 300th together.
But even though America is an independent country, there is no true freedom here until everyone — regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, religion, age, disability, or class — is free from their oppressors. As long as any oppression exists, freedom can’t. No one is free until we are all free. The Declaration of Independence says “all men are created equal,” and the Constitution opens with “We the People.” That means all of us. This country isn’t mine, and it isn’t yours. It belongs to everyone, and it’s a home to everyone, including the Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) community. America was built by our ancestors’ hands, immigrants included, and now it’s our hands that keep building it for future generations, for better or worse.
The Founding Fathers aimed to form a union in which we, the people, would have justice and liberty. As long as we stay united, our democracy endures, and we, as Americans, have a duty to carry that democracy forward with the hope that future generations will uphold the Constitution. The Declaration’s foundational principles — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — aren’t legally binding, but they still guide us. I also hope our future generations continue to hold this republic’s government accountable by ensuring checks and balances among the three branches: Legislative (Congress), Executive (the President), and Judicial (the courts, including the Supreme Court). We must keep reminding our government, now and in the future, that no one is above the law. Neither are we.
I can’t stress this enough: we should stay united, just as the Founding Fathers envisioned. This country was founded on unity when 13 colonies joined together to declare independence from Great Britain: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
That’s why our country, which turns 250 years old today, is called the United States of America. United is the keyword. My state’s official motto — the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s “United We Stand, Divided We Fall” — should be one of our reminders that we must keep our fragile democracy alive for our generation and the next. We can disagree on politics. We can have different visions for what we want this country to be. But we must never interfere with the Constitution, because it’s the foundation our country sits on. The Constitution is what makes America unique: we have a democracy in which we, the majority, choose who represents us and ensure our voices are heard. Sometimes we take that for granted. We shouldn’t, because democracy is very fragile. If we don’t make sure our government follows the Constitution, we’d lose the democracy we’ve had for 250 years. For the sake of that democracy, we have to protect the Constitution — especially the Bill of Rights and its core protections.
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution are:
- First Amendment: Guarantees our freedoms of speech, press, religion, and assembly.
- Second Amendment: Protects the right to bear arms.
- Third Amendment: Prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private homes without consent.
- Fourth Amendment: Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.
- Fifth Amendment: Establishes the rights of the accused, including due process and protection against self-incrimination.
- Sixth Amendment: Ensures the right to a fair and speedy jury trial in criminal cases.
- Seventh Amendment: Ensures the right to a jury trial in civil cases.
- Eighth Amendment: Prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.
- Ninth and Tenth Amendments: Clarify that rights not listed still belong to the people, and that powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the States or the people.
You can read the U.S. Bill of Rights transcript here: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript
You can read the Constitution of the United States transcript here: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
Learning the Constitution matters. It’s what makes the United States of America the United States of America!
We have to keep protecting the Constitution and keep making sure there’s still a democracy where everyone’s voice is heard through their vote. And we have to resist the fascism we’re facing today, with a President who wishes to be a king — an outright disrespect to the Constitution. We must stand fast and resist a government that has turned toward tyranny, because the Republican Party/GOP is no longer the party we once knew. It has become something different, thanks to President Trump and his MAGA cult.
As long as there’s still a democracy, and as long as the United States of America is still the United States of America — even fragile and divided — our country is still here. It has been for 250 years, and it can be for many more, as long as we keep defending it. Defending our democracy means using the most powerful tool we have: the vote! We the people decide who serves in our government, and we the people decide what direction our 250-year-old country goes. Make sure we elect candidates who agree that there should never be a law that oppresses us or takes away our voting rights.
The SAVE Act is an example of a bill we should never let our government pass — or anything like it. If passed, it would significantly reduce the number of eligible voters, especially women. Many married or divorced women would be required to provide additional documents proving their name change just to register, simply because their current last name doesn’t match the one on their birth certificate. Instead, I suggest taking a close look at the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That’s a good starting point, since it’s the legal foundation for voting rights in this country. Build on it. Revise and improve it to make sure every citizen keeps the right to vote regardless of race, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, class, or anything else.
Here’s the link to keep updated with the Save Act: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/22
Happy 250th Birthday, United States of America! I hope this article, this letter, finds you many years from now as a reminder of how fragile American democracy is, so that you, our future generations, don’t repeat the mistakes that our ancestors and we made. Take the opportunity to look closely at our history. Make sure the Constitution remains, even with new amendments that hopefully make America better than it is here in 2026. And while you’re at it, I highly recommend comparing our history to Germany in the 1930s — back when it was the Weimar Republic, and the Nazi Party rose to power with Adolf Hitler as Führer.
On a personal note: I hope every one of you enjoys celebrating America’s 250th! If you’re celebrating with alcohol, please have a safety plan for yourself and the people around you. Don’t drive drunk. Hand your keys to someone you trust ahead of time, and let them know you’re planning to party so they won’t give in later when you beg for your keys back while pretending you’re sober.
Also, if you have pets, please make sure they’re somewhere safe and comfortable, because there will be a ton of fireworks going off tonight — it’s the 250th, after all. Check on them from time to time. And when I say from time to time, I don’t mean every 2 or 3 hours. I mean every 15 to 30 minutes, max. You know how easily pets get scared, and they’re at their most vulnerable while the fireworks are going off.
Enjoy, and be safe!
Dated: July 4, 2026.
Joshua “Joshie” Sullivan.
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