Happy 250th, America!
What a gangbuster quarter-millennium of a resume you have assembled. Much to be proud of and yet … far too few Americans are lining up to blow out the candles.
A revolutionary war brought independence from the British Empire, self-governance and the adoption of natural law. A war with Mexico enlarged the nation by a third. A Civil War put an end to the scourge of slavery. The United States became a global superpower after prevailing in two World Wars and outlasting a Cold one.
Along the way, the world’s oldest democracy advanced freedom around the world, accelerated the riches of Western civilization, sought to perfect Judeo-Christian values, launched scientific discoveries and explored the universe.
Meanwhile, in other parts of the globe, hundreds of millions of people living under Sharia law of Islam seemed contentedly stuck in the Stone Age—stoning women, refusing to educate them, killing apostates, hanging homosexuals.
With all those cinematic fireworks as backdrop, and with the milestone of July 4 imminent, there’s an appalling amount of doom and gloom about America on the part of its own citizenry—even elected officials. The celebratory mood is mixed, if not altogether nihilistic. Instead of a national pep rally, we’re forced to vicariously love America through the fanfare and eyes of FIFA fans who are in the United States for the World Cup.
Thank God. At least these surrogates—estimated at 1.25 million and counting—appreciate America’s greatness even as Americans themselves take their country for granted.
Bashing the homeland has become a new national ethic. We could learn a great deal from Scottish fans in Boston, playing bagpipes in celebration at 6:30 a.m. Germans and other foreigners are touring the country, sampling neighborhood hot spots and the dizzying array of fast-food options as if awarding Michelin stars for Shake Shack.
Along the way, they are feted by friendly Americans.
Walmart has become a tourist destination for the Japanese. Norwegians gravitate to Bass Pro Shops. Soccer fans from Ireland and Holland can’t get enough of Tex-Mex barbecue. Brazilians are gaily dancing across the Brooklyn Bridge.
American abundance, which was once regarded as a cliché metaphor for the country’s crassness, today seems to have captivated the world. Giant retail stores, 24-hour diners, free soda refills and oversized portions are big draws of Americana on its 250th birthday. FIFA’s visitors may never leave now that they’ve gotten a taste of America’s excesses and pizazz.
Here’s an idea: Maybe we can swap out unpatriotic Americans and trade them for these far more appreciative surrogates? Let’s see how homegrown and naturalized American ingrates—disgruntled bashers of the land of the free—will fare living among the “grooming gangs” and “no-go zones” of Western Europe.
Sexual assault and antisemitic violence have become the bread and circuses of some of Europe’s once great capital cities. For American Islamists, it will be a blast from the past. Native-born Americans disenchanted with their nation will find the contrast at first illuminating, followed by menacing and then terrifying.
What on Earth does a fictitious country like Palestine have to do with the constituent needs of U.S. citizens?
Recent polling reveals that while 92% of Republicans report that they are “extremely” or “very” proud to be Americans, only 35% of Democrats are similarly enamored—a steep drop from 62% in 2024. The Democratic Party sure knows how to party-poop on America’s 250th birthday. Only 27% display the American flag, as compared with 64% of Republican households. Some 65% of Republicans intend to celebrate July 4 cognizant of its special meaning this year, as compared with 24% of Democrats, who place a higher priority on holiday sales for outdoor grills and air conditioners.
Sixty-two percent of Republicans agree with the statement: “The U.S. is the greatest country.” Fewer than 11% of Democrats would be caught dead saying the same thing.
It’s not surprising; after all the anti-American dogma they’ve been spoon-fed by their teachers, who denounce the United States as an irredeemably racist, Islamophobic nation—one unsafe for budding terrorists and their fandom. Purple-haired, mask-wearing, fist-pumping, know-nothing cohorts of Gen Z despise America most of all.
Public officials and candidates for elective office have been especially contemptuous of the red, white and blue. Senatorial candidate from Maine Graham Platner has said that he “stopped believing in any of the patriotic nonsense.” Aber Kawas, who just won the Democratic nomination for New York State Senate, once intimated that “America deserved 9/11” and “brought it on itself.”
This was similar to when progressive “Squad” member in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), trivialized 9/11 by referring to it as “some people did something.” She came one vote shy of being censured by Congress. Fellow “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) has accused the United States of enabling Israel’s alleged “genocide” in Gaza. Sam Rasoul, who sits in the Virginia State House, also holds America accountable for what is a libelous and baseless charge against the Jewish state.
Bashing the homeland has become a new national ethic.
Meanwhile, in last week’s congressional primaries in New York, three Democratic Party candidates, who will inevitably be elected in November, each faulted the United States for the “genocide” in Gaza. Darializa Avila Chevalier called America a “f**king disgrace” and once boasted that, “I forgot to get napkins, so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me.”
Lovely. Benedict Arnold is calling for her to join his ranks.
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El‑Sayed justified acts of terrorism with the defense, “Hurt people hurt people.” Platner, who professed to be mystified by the fuss over the Nazi tattoo he wore on his chest for well over a decade, took a similar stance on America’s supposed complicity in “genocide.”
In their victory speeches, it was remarkable how many listed “Free Palestine” as either the first or second takeaway from their campaign. What on Earth does a fictitious country like Palestine have to do with the constituent needs of American citizens?
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the cheerleader for New York’s expanding delegation of giddy antisemitic, anti-American socialists, has long said: “My support for BDS is consistent with the core of my politics.” Is BDS somehow linked to improving the municipal affairs of New York City? How did obsessing over Palestine become an indispensable policy plank of the Democratic Party?
July 4 is for kosher hot dogs, not halal food.
Before blowing out the candles on the nation’s 250th birthday, let’s hope there’s a new generation of Americans willing to liberate the nation once again. This time from a different insidious monarchy—comprised of university professors immersed in Marx and co-opted by Qatar; mainstream media with its contempt for the First Amendment if it means reporting the truth; and terrorist-loving elected officials who feel that fireworks on July 4 would be better spent burning down the nation.
Absent Paul Revere, might a FIFA visitor undertake another go at a Midnight Ride? This time, however, we’re thrilled that “the British are here!”
We’d just prefer that some other discontented Americans go.
Originally published by the “Jewish Journal.”
