The U.S. is preparing for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th commemorating the beginnings of the United States of America. How can one celebrate the proud history of democracy when so much has changed in the last year-and-a-half that turns values we have cherished upside down, among them most prominently freedom of speech, the foundation of a diverse, open, democratic and just society? A society with equal rights and chances for everyone, not only those in power.
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Some thoughts on our joint history
When I started my position as “Cultural Affairs Specialist” in 1993 at the U.S. Embassy in Bonn, the office there was decorated with a number of posters celebrating various events the cultural section had organized to celebrate the German-American friendship and our shared history over the decades. One of the posters depicted a slice of pastry being cut from a richly decorated cake in red, white and blue, the colors of the American flag. The caption read: “A slice of American life has a German filling. 1683.”
In 1983, ten years before I started working in the U.S. Embassy, numerous events celebrated 300 years of German immigration in the Amerikahaus and German-American Institute network throughout Germany. They commemorated thirteen Mennonite and Quaker families that had decided to leave their home town Krefeld and religious persecution behind for the promises of the “new world”. There they met up with Francis Daniel Pastorius, a German lawyer, humanitarian and educator. Together they established the first permanent German settlement named Germantown, today a suburb of Philadelphia. They became part of William Penn’s vision of establishing a colony based on religious tolerance. Penn, “an early advocate for religious freedom . . . was also a supporter of political freedom and representative government.” In that spirit, in 1688, Francis Daniel Pastorius and several Pennsylvania Quakers signed a protest against keeping slaves, the first of its kind in the English colonies.
Fun fact: The poster “A slice of American life has a German filling. 1683” now sells for 250 dollars on the internet. I should have taken one of them with me when the U.S. Embassy’s cultural section moved to Berlin in 1998.
History as a changing narrative
The U.S. is preparing for another historical event this summer: the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence commemorating the beginnings of the United States of America. I have asked myself how one can celebrate the proud history of democracy when so much has changed in the last year-and-a-half that turns values we have cherished upside down, among them most prominently freedom of speech, the foundation of a diverse, open, democratic and just society. A society with equal rights and chances for everyone, not only those in power.
The National Museum of American History, for example, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution, is celebrating the anniversary with an exhibit called “In Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness” paraphrasing the famous line from the Declaration of Independence. The exhibit “traces how Americans have pursued the promises of our nation’s founding—often against the odds or facing opposition, but always with the conviction that achieving them was possible.” In sum, Americans, among them newly arrived immigrants from all over the world, were pursing the American Dream either for themselves or for their children. That promise didn’t work out for everybody and certainly didn’t apply to enslaved people or native Americans whose labor or land ironically facilitated this dream. But it has always been a strong narrative, until now. To use another popular metaphor, America was the beacon on the hill that guided people from all over the world into the save harbor of a prosperous and welcoming nation.
The Smithsonian, a world renowned institution encompassing 21 museums, 21 libraries, 14 education and research centers, numerous landmarks and even a zoo, is walking a fine line in how it represents U.S. history these days. Though independent, the Institute relies heavily on federal funding. Following Trump’s Executive Order 14253, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History”, the Smithsonian is under pressure to basically whitewash U.S. history and promote American exceptionalism. A balanced and scientifically-based view of the past is supposed to be replaced by a politically biased, one-sided presentation of the party in power. Trump’s initiative “aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.” Such an approach to history leaves out all counter narratives, reverting back to uncritical, simplistic histories of the past. This is a process of cleansing the narrative of unwelcome ideas, something that is nothing but “cancel culture”.
So far Smithsonian secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, an African-American historian and the founding director of the National Museum of African American History, has managed to signal cooperation when requested to turn over documents pertaining to the Smithsonian’s projects. He is confronted with conservative circles who support the Trump administration’s claim that the Institute conveys “an unduly negative view of the nation’s history that focuses too much on matters like racial inequality.” Since then some wall text that included references to Trump’s two impeachments at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has been carefully edited (just as information panels in national parks have been edited). But Dr. Bunch makes it clear that he is in this job to protect the integrity of the institution and of its research to provide differing viewpoints on the historical narrative of the United States: “’I’m never going to run from race,” he said, “I mean, I’m just never going to do that. These are important issues.’” For now, Dr. Bunch is withstanding the pressure and not abandoning ship.
That not more drastic interference has taken place is probably due to the fact that time has simply been too short to completely overhaul the portrayal of U.S. history based on right-wing ideologies before the 250th anniversary celebrations.
Trump’s version (and vision) of U.S. history
Trump’s vision of U.S. exceptionalism will come to life in the planned “National Garden of American Heroes” to be established in West Potomac Park near the National Mall. 250 life-sized, “realistically” depicted statues are supposed to represent the best in American history. They range from Presidents, politicians, soldiers, artists, entertainers, religious thinkers to civil society representatives. The New York Times links a list of potential “heroes” provided by the administration. I doubt that some of the civil rights leaders listed there like Coretta Scott King, black artists such as Louis Armstrong or a fighter for independent journalism like Edward R. Murrow will make it onto the heroes’ pathway eventually. Maybe the staffers that put together the list didn’t get the memo: that, apparently, there is too much emphasis on race in today’s research and history writing.
Instructions for a linked nation-wide student art contest reveal that the “heroes’” biographies are stripped of anything deemed controversial or disturbing. As Jennifer Schuessler of the New York Times points out: “The 85 pages of biographies provided to help students with their entries, which must include a 200-word text, suggest an approach that emphasizes national unity, meritocracy and individual rights, while glossing over the fact that many of the heroes exemplify traditions of protest and dissent.”
Leaving out President Lincoln’s and Dr. King’s assassinations in the heroes’ biographies not only suggests a sanitizing of history, but a soft laundering as well. As if students who are directly or indirectly exposed to gun violence and school shootings on a regular basis will feel safer or better informed with a laundered version of history in their backpacks. The winning submissions from all states and territories will be exhibited on the Mall as part of Trump’s Great American State Fair, from June 25 to July 10. The committee to select the winners will, no doubt, make sure that uncritical hero worship will be on full display. Instead of teaching the history of ideas that have made the United States of America the destination of the world’s dreamers, students will be taught the history of “great men”, and of some women, in an abridged, easily digestible form.
The in-your-face symbolism of the raped White House
The New York Times quotes Davis Ingle, a White House spokesman, who emphasized that “President Trump continues to beautify and honor our nation’s capital during America’s historic semiquincentennial celebration.” The beautification process is on full display on the White House grounds and the Mall.
A month before the big celebration on July 4 the people’s house is a construction site with a gaping hole where the East Wing of the White House stood until its unannounced demolition last October. It is supposed to be the site of Trump’s contested ballroom that, as many conservationists fear, will dwarf the serene beauty of the White House. Americans have always been proud of the fact that the White House is not a palace, but a relatively small, classical building serving as the president’s temporary home – courtesy of the American people. Its interior has been receiving the Trump treatment of a golden make-over, Jackie Kennedy’s rose garden has been paved over to make guests feel like sitting in a country club and the oval office has been turned into a tacky, “royal” boudoir to please the president’s taste. This is the environment he can control while his policies (from tariffs to the war with Iran) increasingly spiral out of control.
The White House grounds are dominated by another construction site: a huge arch marking the site of a fight cage for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to take place on the south lawn of the White House on June 14. For the un-initiated: The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company. One of the owners, Dana White, is a close friend of the president. The arch will serve as a lighting grid for the octagon in which the fighters, dressed only in shorts, no shoes, will face each other on the president’s birthday. I will spare you the details on the history of the business (there is an extensive Wikipedia article on the UFC), but here is a short description of the rules by journalist David Remnick:
“U.F.C. rules, such as they are, are minimalist. Fights take place in a fenced-in octagon. They are nasty, brutish, and short. Ears are routinely cauliflowered, noses fractured, limbs shattered. Referees can be seen waving a frantic conclusion to the proceedings just as one fighter is choking another to the point of blackout. Losers often exit the octagon wobbling, smiling, fogged, concussed. . . . The fevered response from the stands is part of the spectacle.”
In short: the opposite of how people behave in a civilized society. The late Senator John McCain described MMA as “human cockfighting.”
One third of the tickets are supposedly reserved for military personnel, with, as CNN reports, one caveat: “Senior Pentagon leaders are putting together lists of uniformed US service members who will be offered the chance to attend the UFC fight at the White House next month hosted by President Donald Trump, but tickets will only be given to those who meet military body composition standards, according to guidance memos reviewed by CNN and sources familiar with the process.”
Trump’s spectacle organized by the Freedom 250 group is all for optics: A “reality” show scripted on the basis of a laundered, revisionist view of history and dominated by strongmen. If only the ballroom had been completed because all the pictures taken of the White House on this glorious 4th of July will show a big hole in the ground, unfinished business amid destruction. Add to that the reflecting pool’s beautification process which entails painting it Miami blue reminiscent of a huge swimming pool instead of a serene water feature functioning as a mirror in a historical setting. It’s the size of the pool Trump brags about, not its meaning, though the size has always been the same, irrespective of Trump’s intervention.
How symbolic of this presidency.
Celebrating the “promise of America” under Trump?
Roughly two thirds of American voters disapprove of the Trump presidency. As analyst Nate Cohn points out, “The latest Times/Siena poll finds just 37 percent of Americans approve of President Trump’s performance, putting his ratings in new political territory.” To put this into context since many observers here in Europe and elsewhere would argue that the approval ratings are “still” astonishingly high: “no president’s approval rating has been under 38 percent for more than a few days in the last 17 years, according to our average.”
July 4th celebrations are usually a family affair with parades, fireworks and barbecues enjoyed around the country. Many Americans don’t feel like celebrating this year which is especially sad because this huge country is, and was, so much more than the Trump administration and its policies. But war is waged in the name of all Americans. Immigrants (and even regular citizens) are grabbed off the streets, incarcerated under inhumane conditions and mostly deported. Health care and food stamps are denied to the weakest in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Aid to the neediest in the world is cut. It’s all in your name, like it or not.
My birthday wishes
Dear American friends: Please do take back your country.
Even if you cannot agree on what to protest these days and life in this dark version of the USA is increasingly difficult. The No-Kings-Protests have been effective in that they have brought many of you together. But they are not enough to keep the pressure up. Turn this distorted version of Trump’s America around and reclaim your (Lincoln’s) better angels. The brave people in Hungary have shown us the way.
Change is possible and courage is contagious. Americans are known for their practical “can-do” attitude and their optimism. Go out into the streets on July 4 and show your creativity and joy, celebrate your messy, complicated but indispensable democracy. It’s still alive, but it needs you to be seen and heard. And we will cheer you on from abroad, because a slice of the birthday cake and life in the U.S. is African, Asian, European . . .
Happy Birthday, USA!
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Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Americans
https://www.deutschland.de/en/usa/us-immigration-americas-german-roots
https://williampennfoundation.org/news/william-penn-city-planner-democracy
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-Daniel-Pastorius
https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/germans-have-landed
https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/in-pursuit?utm_source=si.edu&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=MyVisitSI
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/arts/design/smithsonian-trump-pressure.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/21/arts/design/smithsonian-museum-wall-text-politics.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/arts/design/lonnie-bunch-smithsonian-american-aspirations.html
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/08/letter-to-the-smithsonian-internal-review-of-smithsonian-exhibitions-and-materials/
https://freedom250.org/events/student-art-contest/american-heroes-biographies.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/02/us/politics/trump-garden-of-heroes-statues.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/24/arts/trump-garden-heroes-king.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/29/politics/us-military-ufc-white-house-weighthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/dana-white-thinks-everyones-a-fighterhttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/donald-trump-approval-rating-polls.html
