Looking beyond America's first 250 years

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, it's worth asking where we go from here.

As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, I found myself reflecting on what this country has meant to me.

I wasn’t born here. I came to the United States at 5 years old. This is where I grew up, built my career, started my family, and raise my children. Like millions of other immigrants, I have always viewed America less as a finished product than as an ongoing project. The country’s greatest strength has never been perfection. It has been the belief that tomorrow could be better than today.

That is why so much of what we’ve seen lately has left me feeling genuinely discouraged.

The conversation coming out of Washington feels almost entirely disconnected from the problems most Americans actually face. Instead of talking about how to lower housing costs, make childcare more affordable, improve healthcare, strengthen infrastructure, or help people build successful businesses, we find ourselves watching another weekend dominated by golf outings, political spectacles, social media feuds, and manufactured controversies.

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The promise of “Make America Great Again” was that the country would become stronger, more prosperous, and more affordable. Yet much of the administration’s energy has instead gone toward political revenge campaigns, culture war battles, symbolic events that generate headlines but accomplish little, and policy choices that critics argue have increased costs while straining relationships with longtime allies.

Whether you agree with every criticism or not, it is difficult to escape the feeling that the country’s biggest challenges are no longer receiving the attention they deserve.

America’s greatest advantage has always been optimism about the future. People believed the country could solve problems, build new industries, and leave the next generation better off.

The United States invested in scientific research. It built world-class universities that attracted talent from around the globe. Entrepreneurs created companies that reshaped entire industries. Immigrants came believing their children would have opportunities they never had themselves. Government, at its best, helped create the conditions that made those things possible.

That sense of forward momentum mattered.

People believed the next decade could be better than the last.

Today, that confidence feels increasingly fragile.

Imagine if the primary conversation in Washington every day centered on making it easier to afford a home, improving public transportation, modernizing airports, investing in biotechnology and clean energy, strengthening public education, or making it simpler to start a business.

Those are the kinds of conversations that build stronger countries.

Instead, far too much of our national attention is consumed by political theater. Every outrage becomes another day’s news cycle, while many of the long-term challenges facing the country continue to grow.

As we prepare to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, I think the question worth asking is surprisingly simple:

Are we building a country that our children will be proud to inherit?

Not a country with the loudest slogans. Not the biggest political rallies. Not the most viral social media posts.

A country that gives the next generation more opportunity than the previous one.

That has always been the promise that drew people here from around the world. It certainly was for my family.

The United States still has extraordinary potential. Our talent, our institutions, our entrepreneurs, and our capacity for innovation remain unmatched in many respects.

But potential alone isn’t enough.

A government cannot spend all of its time looking backward, settling scores, or staging spectacles while neglecting the work of preparing the country for the future.

The 250th anniversary should not simply be an opportunity to celebrate America’s history.

It should be an opportunity to ask whether we are still building the kind of country worthy of its future.

The good news is that none of this is permanent.

Governments change. Priorities change. Countries change. One of the strengths of American democracy is that voters get the opportunity to decide whether the country is headed in the right direction.

As we celebrate 250 years this weekend, I hope you have the chance to relax, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy the holiday. I also hope you take a few minutes to think about where we are as a country and ask yourself what kind of country we should actually be building over the next 250 years.

Because the next opportunity to start answering that question comes this November.

Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend. My team and I are grateful for your support of the show and of this Substack.

Leave me a comment and tell me what you’re looking forward to most, whether it’s enjoying the holiday weekend or what you hope America looks like in the years ahead.

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—David

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