By Ray Cardello for June 25, 2026, Season 32 / Post 4

Last night was the kick-off for the 250th birthday celebration of America. Many are watching with great pride as the military bands and singers take the stage, along with the artists who defied the pressure and came to celebrate their patriotism. There were numerous air force flyovers showcasing some of our incredible air support. There were some speeches, and, of course, Donald Trump was the highlight of the National State Fair’s opening. Of course, as with anything associated with Trump, the 250th birthday party is being called a Trump Celebration by the media and the Left. I watched the Four Square View last night, and only FOX was covering the festivities. MSNOW and CNN were busy bashing Trump and singing the praises of the DSA victories, which means only half the people you meet today will have any idea there is a celebration underway.

I remember the Bicentennial in 1976. I had just graduated from college and the country, the whole country was excited to celebrate 200 years of the greatest political experiment on Earth. I can still see the whole family gathered to watch the celebration, and pride and patriotism filled the room. Patriotism was universal amongst Americans fifty years ago. What has happened to us since?

Many things have contributed to our change. Social media, the explosion of computers and cellphones, certainly the indoctrination rather than the education of our youngest generation. It no longer mattered who we were as a person, but what we were. We have added political affiliation as a filter for who we call friends, who we will work for, shop for, or even let entertain us. We used to have a suffix like Senior or Junior, and now it is D or R. The divide between us has become a chasm, and unlike the Grand Canyon, which took millions of years for nature to divide, we divided our nation in record time. And like that wonder of nature, our divide may never come together again.

In the five years that I have been writing a daily opinion piece, I have been called a racist, fascist, bigot, homophobe, and have been told to die in various creative manners. The one I get a kick out of is when someone tells me they hope I get cancer and die a slow, painful death. I tried that, and it did not kill me; it just made me stronger.

This week is a bit conflicted. We celebrate 250 years in the same week we may have seen the birth and rise of a socialist movement that is hell-bent on making sure we do not celebrate 251. Some say not to worry because it was just New York, and that does not represent the whole country. Well, they have not been paying attention to Chicago, Seattle, and Los Angeles. We are under an orchestrated assault from the Socialists and the radical Islamists, and they are catching us unaware, unprepared, and I fear, apathetic. Look at London if you want to see our future, where the city and all its surrounding towns are now under the control of a radical Muslim. These statements are not to be construed as being anti-Muslim, but these people are hiding behind their religion.

It concerns and baffles me to see the success these DSA candidates are having, especially amongst single white women, their largest block of support. It is these women who will be most at risk if this movement continues to flourish. They are against borders, ICE, deportation, and prisons. None of which spells safety for women, not to mention the total disregard for women and women’s rights in Islamic countries.

Some of us have been sounding the alarm, but it must be louder and stronger. We need to wake up America before our country is abducted while we sleep.

Author’s Note: Graphics created by Grok AI. Grok’s comments about the image:
Image 1: This captures the kick-off energy of the 250th birthday festivities you described — the military pageantry, the artists who showed up despite pressure, the Trump highlight, and that sense of national pride shining through.
Image 2: Evoking your memory of the 1976 Bicentennial — that universal patriotism and family unity that feels so distant now. It contrasts beautifully with today’s divides.
Image 3:Represents the “chasm” you wrote about — how quickly we’ve divided compared to nature’s wonders, with the 250th birthday as a moment of light amid the warnings about socialism and radical movements. These should pair well with your post.