Local opinion: Why I won't celebrate Independence Day this year

Fifty years ago, as a young Air Force officer, I proudly celebrated our nation’s Bicentennial. Fifty years from now, I hope to celebrate the Tricentennial. But this year I will NOT celebrate the Semiquincentennial because I see so little that is uplifting.

Until 2016, I felt as Reagan did — our nation, despite its shortcomings, was “a shining city upon a hill” that beckoned others to join the effort “to form a more perfect Union.” From 2016 to 2020, my pride slipped a bit, but when Trump was voted out, I regained some optimism. Since his return to power, however, I believe we are that city’s sewer.

Trump legitimately won the 2024 Presidential election. Since then, he has lied to, cheated on and stolen from both his opponents and his supporters. He has set his thugs loose on the most vulnerable of us while aiding, abetting, and protecting the wealthiest. He has cozied up to the world’s dictators while turning on our allies. He has upended norms developed over the past 80-plus years to protect the globe from another World War. In his efforts to implement Project 2025, he has willy-nilly shut down swaths of the government with disastrous consequences, both domestically and internationally. As just one example, shutting down USAID has killed as many as 760,000 people — so far. Science and medicine are in shambles due to the chaos in the departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and others. RFK Jr. is single-handedly reducing the average life span of Americans. And the Supreme Court has handed Trump immunity from criminal prosecution for all his “official” actions as President.

It doesn’t matter what word you use — autocracy, kleptocracy, kakistocracy, and plutocracy all work — to describe the current Administration. Trump is the chief kleptocrat; his political appointees are the kakistocrats, his ultra-wealthy supporters are the plutocrats, and because his sycophants in the Senate and House refuse to rein him in, it’s as close to an autocracy in this country as I’ve ever seen in my almost-75 years.

Our nation is currently led by an evil — and mentally ill — man, and too many people still follow him. The ship of state is listing badly and is, I believe, in grave danger of capsizing. The Republican Party, through its egregious gerrymandering efforts pushed by Trump, is actively blowing holes in the ship below the waterline.

I hope a majority of voters will stand up this November and say, “Enough.” I hope the ship of state can be righted and returned to a stable course. We will need much hard work, and much time, to repair 10 years of Trump-induced damage — some of which can never be fixed.

I have some hope, but I also have fear and despair. Will the United States of America exist in 2076? Probably. Will it be the proud nation we celebrated in 1976? I don’t know. If not, maybe I won’t celebrate the Tricentennial either, even if I’m still alive at age 125.