The left isn’t celebrating America anymore — what will they celebrate instead?

by Douglas MacKinnon, opinion contributor - 07/04/26 12:00 PM ET

The Hill's Headlines — July 4, 2026


Happy Fourth of July!

I wonder — how many Americans will be bothered or offended by that greeting today? And how many more Independence Days will we celebrate as a country? We have made it to 250, but it’s hard to imagine another hundred. It is much easier to imagine 20 or less.

A strong argument can be made that the left — via majority control of the media, academia, entertainment, science and medicine — is slowly but surely winning the messaging war. In fact, you might say they are crushing it.

Just look at the trend of stories online citing the fact that millions of Americans have little or no interest in celebrating the 250th anniversary of our nation. Or look at the rise of so-called “democratic socialist” candidates, who look upon the country created by our Founding Fathers as something that needs to be torn down and rebuilt from the inside. Don’t forget about the alarming results of a recent poll showing that more than half of Americans under age 30 said believe “democracy isn’t essential to the country’s identity.”

It is little wonder. Many of those young Americans grew up believing, after years of being taught in school, that our Founding Fathers were White supremacists and evil slave-owners from the privileged class, whose vision, courage and sacrifice must now be reexamined, rewritten and largely swept into the dustbin of history.

But it’s not just young people. In a recent Beacon Research-Shaw and Company Research-Fox News poll, Americans were split over America 250. Fifty-one percent of registered voters said they were excited for the 250th anniversary, while 49 percent said they were not. It is a result that would have been shocking before the Trump era; now it is the accepted norm.

As this evolution in viewing the history and meaning of our nation continues, here is a logical question: What day, reason, or event will the left pick to replace the Fourth of July?

Will it be May 1, International Workers’ Day? That is the day chosen by communist leaders and countries to honor the labor movement, the working class, and the ideological triumph of socialism. Will some on the left want to switch out the names of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin to celebrate instead Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro or Pol Pot?

Or will those who are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome lean toward Jan. 20, 2029, because that will be the last day of the Trump presidency?

As the Fourth of July and the history of our Founding Fathers — one I wrote about in my book, “The 56” — continues to wither under the constant smears from the left, it is natural to wonder what those who revile the the birth of our nation and the dead white men behind it will glorify in their place? If the current trend continues, we may find out much sooner than later.

Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official.

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As nation turns 250, many Americans say the Stars and Stripes is now a red flag

The American flag: To some, it’s Old Glory. To others, it’s a MAGA hat on a stick.

June 29, 2026, 6:01 AM EDT
By Corky Siemaszko


To fly or not to fly an American flag? That was never a question for Bruce Watson, who has put his national pride on display for years — and nudges neighbors in his small New England town to do the same.

“I’m very proud of our flag,” the writer said. “It’s the symbol of ‘We, the People.’”

But as the polarized nation marks its 250th birthday, Watson, 72, worries his Stars and Stripes may now need an asterisk. “If we do fly the flag, we will also put out signs to make it clear that we are not MAGA,” he said.

Bruce Watson, at his home with his dog, Mavis, in Montague, Mass., says he plans to put a disclaimer next to his flag. Hannah Beier for NBC News

The American flag is a symbol striped with many meanings, whether it’s hung on front porches, waved in parades, protests and World Cup matches, or stamped on lapel pins and boxing trunks. Like so much else in American life, it has also been tangled up in politics and the policies of President Donald Trump.

NBC News asked readers to share their feelings and practices around the flag in a moment, polls suggest, when patriotism, national pride and optimism for the country’s future are all fraying. Like Watson, some say the flag can be taken as an endorsement of the current administration. For others, it isn’t tied to any one party but is a way of life.

Trump Name Removal from Kennedy Center Saturday (The John ~ Forming Arts)

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts (Kennedy Center)

 

Trump Name Removal from Kennedy Center Saturday 

Source: CNN

Nuestra América Convoy

The Nuestra América Convoy (English: Our America Convoy) is an international humanitarian movement proposed as a maritime convoy plan to deliver aid to Cuba in response to a severe humanitarian and economic crisis during early 2026. The initiative was initially a flotilla, before being expanded into a global coordinated mission involving the deliveries of humanitarian supplies by air, land, and sea, and is scheduled to converge in Havana on 21 March 2026.

Our America Convoy

Our America Convoy to Cuba

Nuestra América Convoy

The logo of the initiative since February 2026
Formation February 2026; 1 month ago

Region Europe, South America and North America

Organizer David R. K. Adler
Website https://nuestraamericaconvoy.org/

Formerly called Nuestra América Flotilla (Early February 2026)

Walz & Ilhan RUN OUT in PANIC as The CAVALRY Arrives in Minnesota!!!

Democrats told to "get shot" for the anti-Trump resistance

Jul 7, 2025 
Politics & Policy

Democrats told to "get shot" for the anti-Trump resistance

House Democrats speak at a press conference on the steps of the U.S. Capitol ahead of votes on the "One Big, Beautiful Bill" on July 2. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images


Andrew Solender

At town halls in their districts and in one-on-one meetings with constituents and activists, Democratic members of Congress are facing a growing thrum of demands to break the rules, fight dirty — and not be afraid to get hurt.

Why it matters: House Democrats told Axios they see a growing anger among their base that has, in some cases, morphed into a disregard for American institutions, political traditions and even the rule of law.

• "This idea that we're going to save every norm and that we're not going to play [Republicans'] game ... I don't think that's resonating with voters anymore," said one House Democrat.
• Another told Axios that a "sense of fear and despair and anger" among voters "puts us in a different position where ... we can't keep following norms of decorum."
• Axios spoke to more than two dozen House Democrats for this story, with many requesting anonymity to offer candid insights about their interactions with constituents and activists.

Zoom out: For months, Democratic lawmakers have fumed that their base's demands to "fight harder" misunderstand the lack of legislative and investigative power afforded to the minority party in Congress.

• "We've got people who are desperately wanting us to do something ... no matter what we say, they want [more]," Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), the chair of the center-left New Democrat Coalition, told Axios.
• Liberal voters have angrily accosted Democrats at town halls for — in their view — not doing enough to counter President Trump's agenda.
• In response, some Democrats have tried to up the ante: Heckling Trump, mounting rogue impeachment attempts, and getting tackled by law enforcement and even indicted in their efforts to scrutinize the president's deportation campaign.

What we're hearing: The grassroots wants more. "Some of them have suggested ... what we really need to do is be willing to get shot" when visiting ICE facilities or federal agencies, a third House Democrat told Axios.

• "Our own base is telling us that what we're doing is not good enough ... [that] there needs to be blood to grab the attention of the press and the public," the lawmaker said.
• A fourth House Democrat said constituents have told them "civility isn't working" and to prepare for "violence ... to fight to protect our democracy."
• A fifth House Democrat told Axios that "people online have sent me crazy s*** ... told me to storm the White House and stuff like that," though they added that "there's always people on the internet saying crazy stuff."

Between the lines: While other Democratic lawmakers said their discussions haven't gone that far, nearly every one who spoke to Axios cited examples of voters' panic and fury fueling demands to adopt brute force tactics.

• A sixth House Democrat said that when they try to persuade voters to channel their frustration into a focus on winning back Congress in 2026, "people who are angry don't accept that. They're angry beyond things."
• "It's like ... the Roman coliseum. People just want more and more of this spectacle," said a seventh lawmaker.

What they're saying: Schneider, like other Democrats, said Trump impeachment efforts have proven extremely popular with grassroots voters and that, even as he has tried to shoot them down as impractical, some simply find the idea "irresistible.

• "Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a high-profile progressive, said he believes "the most effective pushback to Trump's unconstitutional actions is to model a reverence for the Constitution and the rule of law."

Zoom in: Many lawmakers said these voters tend to be white, well-educated and live in upscale suburban or urban neighborhoods.

• "What I have seen is a demand that we get ourselves arrested intentionally or allow ourselves to be victims of violence, and ... a lot of times that's coming from economically very secure white people," said an eighth House Democrat.
• "Not only would that be a gift to Donald Trump, not only would it make the job of Republicans in Congress easier if we were all mired in legal troubles ... [we are] a group that is disproportionately people of color, women, LGBTQ people — people who do not fare very well in prison."

The bottom line: "The expectations aren't just unreal. They're dangerous," the eighth House Democrat said.

• A ninth lawmaker told Axios: "I actually said in a meeting, 'When they light a fire, my thought is to grab an extinguisher.'"
• "And someone at the table said, 'Have you tried gasoline?'"

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Time to Take Aim at Federal Reserve: US Rep. Davidson