In 1776, about 1/3 of the American colonists wanted to break free from King George III, about 1/3 of the American colonists wanted to remain under English rule, and about 1/3 of the American colonists didn’t have a preference. On July 4th, 1776, the American colonists didn’t have a President . . . or a Constitution . . . or even their independence. Just a letter of intent. Just a declaration which announced to King George III and the wider world the direction we intended to pursue. It would take over five more years to gain independence . . . over six more years beyond that to ratify the Constitution . . . and nearly another year after that for George Washington to be sworn into office.
Yet, for 248 years, we celebrated our country’s birth on July 4th. Because it’s apparently the intent that matters.
In 2024, about 75 million Americans voted for Kamala Harris, about 77 million Americans voted for Donald Trump, and about 90 million Americans opted not to exercise their right to vote. It would be two and a half more months before Donald Trump was sworn back into office . . . mere hours after that before he would start issuing Executive Orders (and violating the law and his oath and the Constitution) . . . and over eight months beyond that before he’d get the Congress to pass his budget.
And absolutely no one should be surprised at what he’s done . . . or what he’s doing. The evidence was clearly there for anyone who wanted to see it -- he’s an unrepentant liar; he’s a malignant narcissist; he’s a felon; he’s a terrible businessman; he’s a con man and a grifter; he’s a bully; he’s a sexual predator; plus he had the well-documented track record he accrued while (and after!) he was objectively already the worst President this country has ever had to endure.
For the majority of the Americans who voted -- that either didn’t matter or was exactly what they wanted to see in-and-from their leader. And on November 5th, 2024, they delivered their Letter of Intent. A letter of intent that spat in the face of the American ideal that had survived for the 248 years following the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
So if we celebrate the announcement of our collective intent, then July 4th is really nothing that special any longer . . . unless those of us who really love America -- the America built on the ideals and principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution -- can somehow take it back. Otherwise, the America-we-knew died on November 5th, 2024, at the age of 248 years, four months and one day. And on July 4th, 2026, MAGAmerica will be just one year, seven months, and twenty-nine days old.
MAGAmerica celebrated its first birthday on November 5th, 2025. It won’t celebrate its second birthday until November 5th, 2026. And MAGAmerica does not get to claim 248 years of “greatness” as part of its own history when it explicitly repudiated that vision in its vote.
(And on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it will be bitterly ironic to watch another Mad King preside over the day . . .)
