This year, 2026, marks the 250th birthday of the United States. There will be many celebrations throughout the year, especially on the 4th of July. We already know that one person, aided by his legion of lackeys, will try to preempt these events to promote himself. His actions are entirely predictable, and endlessly feature his own interests over the welfare of the rest of us and our country.

It is important to remember that this commemoration is about the Declaration of Independence, written in 1776, which first established our break from Great Britain. It is not about our Constitution, which was written thirteen years later. Most Americans are familiar with the Declaration document; many will say they have read it. Yet, they are mostly speaking of the preamble, the initial two paragraphs. The first begins, “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another....” The second begins,

“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights....”

This founding document resonates with these great, almost sacred phrases. But the Declaration goes on for a much longer section. In this part, its author, Thomas Jefferson, justifies our Independence by listing our specific grievances against the King of England. He enumerates 27 of these.

This is an 18th Century document. Some of the grievances are antiquated and do not apply now. Yet our current administration has committed or attempted many of these outrages against its own citizens within the last year. In doing so, it has been inconsistent, chaotic, and cruel. Read the list, see what you think.

In a democracy, all public officials, up to and including the president, are employees of the voters. These officials are hired by citizens to represent all citizens. We have the constitutional authority, the duty, to hire and fire them. This is part of what we call checks and balances. This concept should lead to a thoughtful and moderate course of government to ensure our founding principles for all of us.

Those in the current administration do not understand our duties, nor their own responsibilities. They see their election as a mandate to do anything they please, with no consideration toward the needs of their constituents. They have as much conception of history as a goldfish in a bowl. They have painted a thin golden veneer on the symbols of office. Americans know that this country was made by its citizens, built over these 250 years by the people. Built with hard work, built of oak and steel. No thin golden veneer can change that.

In a wild but fitting occurrence of irony, the King of England recently visited the United States. This is not the king of 1776 but his descendant in 2026. In an address to our Congress, he lectured us on our own principles of democracy and independence adopted so long ago, yet under threat today. As the saying goes: you can’t make this up.

Let’s keep that in mind this year. Let’s remember our actual patriots, both those well-known and those obscure. We have two and a half centuries of them. Not one of them ever assumed any glory. We gave it to them as it was earned and deserved. Celebrate these heroes, and our common citizens also. Please sit down and read our founding documents. Read every word. Evidently the Kings for whom they were intended have read them.