Now retired, Mr. DeCosta is in Washington as soon as once more for the “America 250” celebrations, and he determined earlier this week to try the Nice American State Honest on the Nationwide Mall. The fairgrounds have been higher attended than he anticipated, he says. The one different factor that makes this Independence Day totally different from the one in 1976? How polarized America has change into, he says with some disappointment in his voice.
“We’re pretty divided nowadays, and the division comes from the highest, I’ve to say,” Mr. DeCosta provides. “That has to finish. Till we are able to resolve that, we’re going to be torn aside.”
Why We Wrote This
America’s 250th birthday is an invite to rejoice concepts of freedom and independence that modified the world. However right this moment, many Individuals consider the nation’s foundational values are below menace, prompting a nationwide feeling of concern as a lot as revelry.
Each Fourth of July, the nation’s capital fills with vacationers from throughout America and the world. Greater than 27.2 million folks got here to Washington in 2025, and, partially due to the America 250 festivities, this yr is anticipated to see comparable, if not higher, numbers. Official attendance numbers haven’t been launched.
But, although many Individuals will spend the vacation weekend in conventional methods – resembling at household barbecues, in metropolis parks watching fireworks, or touring to historic websites of the American Revolution – many say they really feel uneasy about their nation. Why? Rising political polarization, lingering considerations in regards to the struggle in Iran, and the consequences of rising prices of residing and unsure job alternatives.
A brand new Marist ballot for NPR and PBS discovered that Individuals stay happy with their nation. However one-third are frightened about its path, and 83% really feel that the U.S. has drifted away from its founding ideas.
In June 2026, the Pew Analysis Heart discovered that 69% of Individuals have been dissatisfied with how issues are stepping into America, and a December 2025 Pew ballot discovered that 59% felt that the nation’s finest days are behind it.
Although folks like Mr. DeCosta are making a degree of celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary, a Marquette Regulation Faculty ballot in June discovered that many Individuals appear tuned out in regards to the celebrations: Solely about one-quarter had learn or heard so much in regards to the semiquincentennial, whereas 57% had heard solely “some” details about it.
“The general public’s temper is fairly bitter,” says Gregory A. Smith, a senior affiliate director of analysis at Pew. Hyperpartisanship seems to be an enormous driver, Mr. Smith says. “Numerous folks suppose the nation’s political divisions will worsen.”
“Nevertheless it’s not all bitter,” Dr. Smith says. “There are additionally indicators of some enduring optimism.”
In truth, greater than two-thirds – 68% – of respondents stated they felt hopeful about their nation’s future, he says.
On a latest weekday morning, the Nationwide Mall thrummed with exercise. Many households scurried with their kids to see dinosaurs on the Museum of Pure Historical past or house capsules on the Nationwide Air and Area Museum. Others, typically clad in purple, white, and blue, made their approach to the Nice American State Honest.
The garden of the Mall from the Washington Monument to only in entrance of the Capitol constructing is surrounded by a chain-link fence. Inside, pavilions for U.S. states and territories showcase their heritage, landscapes, and cultures via interactive shows. (Some states opted out.) Additionally on supply are meals and water stations, a brief arch, a live performance stage, and a Ferris wheel that, on today, was having technical points.
On a sidewalk in entrance of the Agriculture Division constructing, which faces the Mall, Diana, a retired federal worker from Springfield, Virginia, was making her approach to the truthful. She additionally deliberate to go to the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial, after which “get out of city earlier than the warmth hits.”
She says she grew up on U.S. army bases world wide and feels “strongly celebratory” as she heads into the July Fourth weekend.
Diana declined to share her full title. However she did share a few of her hopes and considerations.
“We’d like extra folks to like our nation,” she says.
“I’m unhappy for all of the hatred. I’m unhappy for our nation. We’re so blessed, and there may be a lot alternative for good on this nation. We simply have to work on the division. I don’t know how you can repair it, and I don’t know if a member of Congress can do something about it.”
Mr. DeCosta, the retiree, says he has now been to the nation’s capital sufficient occasions to have seen every little thing he needed to see. So, it simply made sense this time to take a look at the truthful and see what everybody was speaking about.
The warmth of a Washington summer time largely saved attendees shifting from air-conditioned pavilion to air-conditioned pavilion, which could clarify why the mall’s inexperienced grass expanse seems to be empty in information images.
“In case you come to Freedom 250, you may be assumed to be on one (political) facet,” Mr. DeCosta says, referring to the truth that the truthful is a Trump administration manufacturing. He says that when he advised associates he was coming to Washington to see the truthful, they frightened about him. “My red-hat associates stated, ‘Aren’t you afraid you’ll get caught up in protests?’ My blue associates stated, ‘Aren’t you afraid you’ll be surrounded by purple hats?’”
Even his spouse refused to hitch him, however largely as a result of she doesn’t like crowds. Mr. DeCosta smiled and regarded round. “However guess what? No crowds.”
As a lot as he worries about America’s present temper of division, Mr. DeCosta says that the Fourth of July is a time for celebration.
“I’m from California, so there is perhaps some assumptions about the place I stand. However I’m nonetheless a proud American.”
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