Two Hundred and Fifty Candles

W e l l , folks, America is turning 250 this year, and if that doesn’t make you stand up straight and put your hand over your heart, I don’t know what will. They call it a Semiquincentennial—a fancy term for the United States’ 250th birthday, which will officially be celebrated on July 4, 2026.

I was 10 when the country marked its 200th birthday back in 1976, and oh, what a party that was. I had the red, white and blue outfits to prove it and wore them proudly. This year, I’ve already bought Semiquincentennial T-shirts for my husband and me to wear around town. Some things are just worth commemorating in cotton.

Anyway, let’s briefly revisit some history. The American Revolution began primarily due to intense political and economic tensions over Britain’s governing policies, specifically the practice of “taxation without representation.” Following the French and Indian War, Britain imposed direct taxes (the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts) on the colonists to pay debts, restricted westward expansion (the Proclamation of 1763), and enforced harsh punitive measures, such as the Coercive Acts (also known as the “Intolerable Acts”). The colonists reached their tipping point, deciding they’d had enough of King George’s shenanigans.

And so two-and-a-half centuries ago, a group of remarkably brave men gathered in Philadelphia, and on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted, proclaiming that the 13 colonies were sovereign states—free from British rule.

That’s us, y’all! That’s our beginning right there in black and white.

Thomas Jefferson wrote most of it (he sure had a way with words). The most famous lines still give me chills: “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, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

I encourage you to pause here and think about Jefferson’s words— really think about them, because those words mean so much to us all.

Now I’ll confess something: History class did not exactly set my soul on fire when I was younger. I could barely stay awake in high school history class. But something happens as you grow older. History starts to feel more personal. It starts to feel like yours. And when I learned that I had ancestors who actually fought in the American Revolution, things got more interesting for me. I’ve actually visited the grave of one of my ancestors who fought in the Revolution. Henry Parrish, my fifth-greatgrandfather on my dad’s side of the family, is buried at Upper Lotts Creek Primitive Baptist Church in Bulloch County.

To think that someone who shares my DNA stood on a battlefield, scared half to death with a bayonet, fighting for the idea of independence and freedom—well, that chokes me up.

But I’m in no way pretending that everything is perfect here. Lord knows this country—like my own family—can feel terribly divided some days. We argue, we struggle and we disagree something fierce. But underneath all of that, we all love this nation.

I am so deeply grateful and proud to be an American; grateful for the freedoms I sometimes take for granted; and grateful for the people throughout history who paid an awful price so I could live the life I live. That gratitude doesn’t cancel out the hard stuff—it just gives me a reason to never give up on my country or my people. continued from page

So here’s my challenge to you, dear reader: Don’t let this milestone birthday slip by like any ordinary summer. Crack open a history book. Talk to your kids. Hug a veteran. Buy a cup of coffee for a service member. Plan a road trip to Boston or Philadelphia and walk the same cobblestones our founders walked. Watch the fireworks this July with fresh eyes filled with tears. Sing patriotic songs with me: America, America, God shed His grace on thee!

Two hundred and fifty years is something to celebrate, so happy birthday, America. I love you, and I have faith in you. We’ve still got work to do, but what a ride it’s been—one glorious 250-year ride!