As a teen in a small Illinois town, America’s bicentennial in 1976 fascinated me. The official logo marking the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence was omnipresent — on posters in my high school, on clothing and in advertisements. The culmination of the event took many forms in July 1976: fire hydrants repainted in “patriotic” themes, tall ships sailing on New York City’s Hudson River, massive firework celebrations in small towns and large cities, and even a visit from Queen Elizabeth II to Washington, D.C.

Many Americans in 1976 wrestled quietly with questions about our role in a modern world. The vision of America as an unquestioned force for good in the world was in disarray in the wake of the military and foreign policy disaster in Vietnam. The Watergate scandal and resignation of President Richard Nixon led many to question the trustworthiness of our own government.

Nixon hoped the 1976 bicentennial celebration would highlight his vision of the power and dominance of the United States; instead, Americans and public officials opted for more localized events. 

With the 250th anniversary of our country’s founding barely five months away, President Donald Trump wants a national spectacle over local reflection and remembrance. He is planning to host an Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House (which he claims will draw 100,000 spectators). Trump has called for national “Patriot Games” drawing together athletes from each state to participate in various contests to determine an ultimate winner (which feels cribbed from “The Hunger Games”). He recently signed an executive order apparently “mandating” an Indy car race on the streets of our nation’s capital as part of the 250th celebration. And he wants to build a 250-foot high “arch” across the river from Washington to minimize the Lincoln Memorial.

The plans are sprinkled with pay-for-play. Media reports indicate that Trump has created a private entity where donors can contribute to his plans, in exchange for access to his administration. Is that a way to celebrate our nation’s birthday?  

Rather than focusing on the shiny diversions of loud spectacles, Americans might take a few moments this year to explore the parallels between our current condition and the detailed indictment of particulars that Thomas Jefferson laid out against the king of England in 1776. Consider just a few of these equivalences: 

• The Declaration decried the king’s sending of military forces against the people of the Colonies — “transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries … totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.” In 2026, Americans face Trump’s federal immigration agents running roughshod through American cities — including Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles — abusing immigrants and U.S. citizens and capturing people without a warrant, with officials suggesting these troops are immune from accountability. 

• Jefferson condemned the king’s efforts to obstruct “the Administration of Justice.” Trump and his attorney general, Pam Bondi, have turned our legal system into a tool of grievance for the president. Americans long trusted that our Department of Justice uncovered a criminal act and then began investigating to find the perpetrator, but Trump’s DOJ appears to target a perceived “opponent” of the president  — whether James Comey, Letitia James or Don Lemon — and then searches for the crime to be charged. 

• The Declaration charged the king with “cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world” and “imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” The Trump administration has engaged in placing tariffs around the world in an increasingly erratic and incoherent fashion. Some countries — such as Vietnam — appear to have avoided higher tariffs by cutting a deal for a Trump-owned golf course.  And Americans already struggling with high prices have paid these tariffs to their detriment.  

No doubt we will hear a good deal this summer from our president about American patriotism and greatness. Mass athletic events or marble monuments named for the president provide little cover for the way in which Trump is undermining the fundamental principles of our founding — to resist and reject a tyrant.

My hope is that in communities across our country — like my small town in 1976 — we will see demonstrations of opposition to these spectacles.

Edwin C. Yohnka is director of communications and public policy at the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.

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