I’ve been a member of the Sons of the American Revolution for quite some time now. At the beginning of April, I started looking around for a Memorial Day event that we could join. I had assumed that my hometown of Charleston WV, being the state capital, would surely have an event since it is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I was surprised to find that none was planned.
I believed that it was especially important that a Memorial Day service be held here because West Virginia has, since World War II, one of the highest per capita rates of military service and combat casualties in the country. So, another SAR member and I got together, and we planned our own event and arranged for it to be held on the state capitol grounds. At the end of our service, I looked out at the group that was gathered: there was no right or left, there was no red or blue, there was no conservative or liberal. There were only proud Americans who had come together to honor our country, its veterans and its history.
Americans disagree about almost everything these days. Politics, religion, education, history, and even the meaning of patriotism have all become subjects of bitter debate. Too often, we define ourselves more by the groups we oppose than by the country we share.
Yet there are still opportunities to remember that before we were Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or progressives, we were Americans. The ongoing 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary Era offers one of those rare opportunities to express what we share, not how we differ.
The semiquincentennial should be far more than fireworks, parades, and historical reenactments. It should be an invitation to rediscover the remarkable story we all inherited. The American Revolution was not perfect. The nation it created was imperfect from the beginning, carrying the stain of slavery, denying women equal rights, and often failing to live up to its own ideals. Those shortcomings do not erase the extraordinary achievement of creating a republic founded on the revolutionary belief that legitimate government derives its authority from the consent of the governed.
The founders left us more than a nation. They left us a challenge. Every generation has been asked to move the country a little closer to the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence—that all people are created equal and possess inherent rights that no government should take away. Those words have inspired abolitionists, suffragists, civil rights leaders, immigrants seeking freedom, and millions of ordinary citizens who believed America could become better than it was.
That is a heritage worth celebrating together.
Organizations devoted to civic life have an important role to play in that celebration. Groups such as the Sons of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the American Legion, Rotary clubs, Civitan clubs, veterans’ organizations, scouting groups, historical societies, libraries, museums, churches, and countless other local groups have spent decades preserving history, encouraging volunteerism, supporting education, and strengthening their communities. While each has its own mission and traditions, they all remind us that citizenship is more than voting every few years. It is an ongoing commitment to serving neighbors and improving the places where we live.
These organizations also offer something increasingly rare in modern America: opportunities for people with different political views to work side by side on practical goals. A community service project, a scholarship program, a veterans’ memorial, a food drive, or a history program rarely asks participants how they voted. It asks only if they are willing to help.
That is a lesson our country desperately needs. Social media and cable television often reward outrage. Algorithms profit by convincing us that our fellow Americans are enemies rather than neighbors. It becomes easy to believe that our differences outweigh everything we have in common.
History tells a different story. Americans have survived fierce political battles before. We have argued over the Constitution, endured civil war, struggled through economic depression and assassinations, fought world wars, and confronted profound disagreements about civil rights and social change. Our history has never been one of perfect unity. Instead, it has been a continuing effort to find common purpose despite deep disagreements.
The Revolution itself offers an example. The thirteen colonies differed enormously in religion, economy, geography, and culture. New England merchants, Virginia planters, Pennsylvania farmers, and South Carolina traders often had conflicting interests. Yet they discovered that some principles were more important than their differences. Their unity was never complete, but it was sufficient to build a nation. We face no less important a challenge today.
The 250th anniversary should encourage every community to host public readings of the Declaration of Independence, historical lectures, concerts, service projects, naturalization ceremonies, veterans’ recognitions, student essay contests, and volunteer events that welcome everyone. These occasions should not become platforms for partisan speeches. They should remind us that our history belongs to all Americans.
Celebrating our shared heritage does not require us to ignore the darker chapters of our past. Mature patriotism is honest enough to acknowledge failures while remaining grateful for the ideals that allowed those failures to be challenged and corrected. A confident nation can tell its whole story without either whitewashing its mistakes or denying its accomplishments.
Perhaps that is the greatest gift the 250th anniversary can offer is reminding us that America has always been a work in progress. Each generation inherits both the nation’s achievements and its unfinished work. If we can gather to honor the courage, sacrifice, and aspirations of those who came before us, perhaps we can rediscover something that has become increasingly scarce — the ability to see one another first as fellow citizens.
Our common heritage cannot solve every political disagreement. It will not erase ideological differences or end heated debates about the country’s future. Nor should it. Democracy depends upon vigorous debate. But it also depends upon something deeper — a shared commitment to our republic and our active participation as citizens. We need to become informed participants in our society and we need to vote and encourage others to vote.
As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, the greatest act of patriotism is not winning another political argument. It is remembering that despite our many differences, we remain participants in the same remarkable American experiment. If civic organizations, veterans’ groups, historical societies, schools, churches, and local communities can help us rediscover that simple truth, they will have performed one of the greatest public services imaginable.
The founders gave us a republic, and they challenged each generation to preserve it and to improve it. Two hundred and fifty years later, that responsibility belongs to all of us. We must not fail.
Our Shared Story Can Still Bring Us Together
By John Turley
On August 18, 2026
In Commentary
I’ve been a member of the Sons of the American Revolution for quite some time now. At the beginning of April, I started looking around for a Memorial Day event that we could join. I had assumed that my hometown of Charleston WV, being the state capital, would surely have an event since it is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I was surprised to find that none was planned.
I believed that it was especially important that a Memorial Day service be held here because West Virginia has, since World War II, one of the highest per capita rates of military service and combat casualties in the country. So, another SAR member and I got together, and we planned our own event and arranged for it to be held on the state capitol grounds. At the end of our service, I looked out at the group that was gathered: there was no right or left, there was no red or blue, there was no conservative or liberal. There were only proud Americans who had come together to honor our country, its veterans and its history.
Americans disagree about almost everything these days. Politics, religion, education, history, and even the meaning of patriotism have all become subjects of bitter debate. Too often, we define ourselves more by the groups we oppose than by the country we share.
Yet there are still opportunities to remember that before we were Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or progressives, we were Americans. The ongoing 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary Era offers one of those rare opportunities to express what we share, not how we differ.
The semiquincentennial should be far more than fireworks, parades, and historical reenactments. It should be an invitation to rediscover the remarkable story we all inherited. The American Revolution was not perfect. The nation it created was imperfect from the beginning, carrying the stain of slavery, denying women equal rights, and often failing to live up to its own ideals. Those shortcomings do not erase the extraordinary achievement of creating a republic founded on the revolutionary belief that legitimate government derives its authority from the consent of the governed.
The founders left us more than a nation. They left us a challenge. Every generation has been asked to move the country a little closer to the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence—that all people are created equal and possess inherent rights that no government should take away. Those words have inspired abolitionists, suffragists, civil rights leaders, immigrants seeking freedom, and millions of ordinary citizens who believed America could become better than it was.
That is a heritage worth celebrating together.
Organizations devoted to civic life have an important role to play in that celebration. Groups such as the Sons of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the American Legion, Rotary clubs, Civitan clubs, veterans’ organizations, scouting groups, historical societies, libraries, museums, churches, and countless other local groups have spent decades preserving history, encouraging volunteerism, supporting education, and strengthening their communities. While each has its own mission and traditions, they all remind us that citizenship is more than voting every few years. It is an ongoing commitment to serving neighbors and improving the places where we live.
These organizations also offer something increasingly rare in modern America: opportunities for people with different political views to work side by side on practical goals. A community service project, a scholarship program, a veterans’ memorial, a food drive, or a history program rarely asks participants how they voted. It asks only if they are willing to help.
That is a lesson our country desperately needs. Social media and cable television often reward outrage. Algorithms profit by convincing us that our fellow Americans are enemies rather than neighbors. It becomes easy to believe that our differences outweigh everything we have in common.
History tells a different story. Americans have survived fierce political battles before. We have argued over the Constitution, endured civil war, struggled through economic depression and assassinations, fought world wars, and confronted profound disagreements about civil rights and social change. Our history has never been one of perfect unity. Instead, it has been a continuing effort to find common purpose despite deep disagreements.
The Revolution itself offers an example. The thirteen colonies differed enormously in religion, economy, geography, and culture. New England merchants, Virginia planters, Pennsylvania farmers, and South Carolina traders often had conflicting interests. Yet they discovered that some principles were more important than their differences. Their unity was never complete, but it was sufficient to build a nation. We face no less important a challenge today.
The 250th anniversary should encourage every community to host public readings of the Declaration of Independence, historical lectures, concerts, service projects, naturalization ceremonies, veterans’ recognitions, student essay contests, and volunteer events that welcome everyone. These occasions should not become platforms for partisan speeches. They should remind us that our history belongs to all Americans.
Celebrating our shared heritage does not require us to ignore the darker chapters of our past. Mature patriotism is honest enough to acknowledge failures while remaining grateful for the ideals that allowed those failures to be challenged and corrected. A confident nation can tell its whole story without either whitewashing its mistakes or denying its accomplishments.
Perhaps that is the greatest gift the 250th anniversary can offer is reminding us that America has always been a work in progress. Each generation inherits both the nation’s achievements and its unfinished work. If we can gather to honor the courage, sacrifice, and aspirations of those who came before us, perhaps we can rediscover something that has become increasingly scarce — the ability to see one another first as fellow citizens.
Our common heritage cannot solve every political disagreement. It will not erase ideological differences or end heated debates about the country’s future. Nor should it. Democracy depends upon vigorous debate. But it also depends upon something deeper — a shared commitment to our republic and our active participation as citizens. We need to become informed participants in our society and we need to vote and encourage others to vote.
As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, the greatest act of patriotism is not winning another political argument. It is remembering that despite our many differences, we remain participants in the same remarkable American experiment. If civic organizations, veterans’ groups, historical societies, schools, churches, and local communities can help us rediscover that simple truth, they will have performed one of the greatest public services imaginable.
The founders gave us a republic, and they challenged each generation to preserve it and to improve it. Two hundred and fifty years later, that responsibility belongs to all of us. We must not fail.
Image generated br author using ChatGPT.