Why We Need to Move Forward with Hope on Our Nation's Birthday
I remember the U.S. Bicentennial very well. The Semiquincentennial this year (Who even knew that was a word!) is nothing like it. For years leading up to the Bicentennial, patriotic fervor and nostalgia were high. Every girl in my high school had at least one "prairie dress" – a long, gathered skirt, often in a floral pattern featuring red, white, and blue. I remember the quilt on my bed – it was also red, white, and blue. "Early American" furniture and décor had been popular for quite a while. We had Bicentennial quarters, commemorative stamps, a special Bicentennial license plate on the car, and the nightly "Bicentennial Minutes" on CBS-TV. I also remember reading about the Bicentennial Wagon Train that started in Washington State and traveled across the country to arrive at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania on July 4th. There was a televised armada of tall ships that sailed from New York to Boston. My family visited my aunt and uncle who lived in...