The official 250th anniversary celebrations have come to an end. We witnessed costly displays of patriotism and military might. From the widely criticized UFC match that tore up the White House lawn, to the botched renovation of the National Monument’s reflecting pool, the events often veered into spectacle and mismanagement. The so-called “Great American State Fair” faced repeated closures as extreme heat swept across the country, underscoring the reality of the climate crisis. Fireworks, flyovers, and speeches at “Mount Rushmore” (a sacred site known to the Lakota as “The Six Grandfathers”) proceeded despite longstanding objections, while New York hosted the largest maritime gathering in modern history.
These moments were exercises in American mythmaking. They celebrated power while glossing over the histories, harms, and struggles that have shaped the country. It was a vision of America built around nostalgia and dominance, not accountability. One that ignored the people and communities who have long been left to fight for the promises this country claims to uphold.
The question now is not simply how we commemorate this milestone, but what we do next.
A truly great America cannot ignore the climate crisis or environmental injustice.
The climate crisis threatens life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Which means climate and environmental justice are inseparable from the promises at the heart of our democracy. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the energy we depend on, and the places we call home are not just environmental concerns; they are questions of rights, opportunity, and security.
How can we talk about the American Dream when freedom itself is metered? When some communities face higher energy burdens, greater exposure to pollution, and the lasting consequences of a country built through unequal access to land, power, and opportunity? How can we build a shared future without acknowledging our history of extraction, displacement, and exclusion?
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The Real American Dream
The story of America is ongoing. And it is not defined by ceremony or symbols, but rather by the people and movements that have always pushed this country closer to its ideals. Across the nation, communities are organizing for a real and different American Dream. They are advancing energy justice, fighting for Black Liberation and Indigenous sovereignty, organizing for environmental justice policies, defending multiracial democracy, supporting migrant rights, challenging the military and prison industrial complex, and confronting the extractive systems that have shaped our climate crisis.
This issue is not just about looking back. It’s about what becomes possible when people have the power to shape their own futures, when communities reclaim their voices, restore relationships with land and one another, and build a future rooted in belonging, justice, and collective power. Across the country, people are already making that future real.
The 250th anniversary was a moment to remember.
Now is a moment to act.
