July 5, 2026
This is a reflection on Lucien De Valois’ reflection upon the 250th anniversary of the United States of America.
To lapse through the entirety of this nation’s history and jump from the heroics of Washington to the ridiculousness of the Trump administration is an understandable shock, just the thought of that jump is giving me whiplash. As an American citizen who loves this country and its people, the ideals of a nation for the people, by the people, are exemplified and damned by the two presidents above, as Mr. De Valois surmises. George Washington was a man wary of holding power for its own sake. De Valois acutely realizes how revolutionary it was for a man to be given rula of a nation by unanimous vote, and takes it upon himself to establish a tradition of limited term-length and a refusal to use the term king to describe the role. Instead opting for president.
He also accurately finds that Donald Trump is far more enamored by the power brought by the office than George Washington ever was. At times, Trump is even defined by his hunger for power and lengths that he will go to to maintain it. Receiving several accusations of assisting the genocide in Palestine and inciting unprovoked war with Iran to distract from his crimes under the umbrella of Jeffrey Epstein. While these accusations are obviously just speculation, the fact that they are thought and spoken so widely gives merit to Trump’s reputation as a power-junkie.
As Lucien’s post subsides, he reminds us all that this 250th birthday is a time for reflection. As I reflect now, on the history of this great nation and the various presidents we have seen throughout the terms, and the many deeds they have done while representing the people. In this reflection I am saddened to think about the discrepancies between how the people saw each other in 1789 when Washington assumed the presidency and today. It is sad enough to know that the times that this nation has felt at its strongest were the times when all the people of the United States had a common enemy to rally them. I see this with all of the great presidents of our history: Washington had the British, Obama had Osama Bin Laden, FDR had the Nazis, and even Lincoln, had the full support of the nation (as the other half of the country had seceded from the nation).
In recent years, and especially since the first Trump administration in 2016, Media corporations have increasingly advertised to the American public that their enemies are living among them, preaching that this adversary is decided by the color of their vote. The us-vs-them dynamic has shifted and now American citizens are at each other’s throats more than ever before. Lucien reflects in their blogpost that, “Friends and adversaries alike speak less of administrations and policies than of [Trump] himself”. At this moment, those who vote red in favor of republican values are not seen as such, but rather seen as people completely in support of the man and his personal battles as well. This weaponization of vote color being used to generalize multiple groups in an ever extreme polarization continually acts in opposition to the true purpose of the government to exist for the people-by the people, instead twisting the dynamic to create warring factions vying for their government to take command over the people who are their enemies.
The downwards spiral of this country makes it easy to forget the ideals that lead to its conception. A place founded on self-evident truths that all peoples are created equal. And we must work together to make this country the place it is meant to be.
Reflective anew,
Marc Grace
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