Where We Find Ourselves – Part Two

Two hundred and fifty years. Tomorrow.

It is such an infinitesimal amount of time in the history of the world. When we think of the great dynasties and civilizations, they had barely gotten out of first gear in two hundred and fifty years. And, here we are, after that fleeting bit of time, with our experiment in democracy on the verge of collapse – driven by greed, hate, racism, wild ignorance, lust for unfettered power, and dumbfounding incompetence all masked as patriotism. And, so I ask of tomorrow, exactly what are we celebrating?

Judging from their writings and the histories of the arguments they drove each other with, this is most definitely not what or who or where the men we call the Founding Fathers would have expected or hoped we’d be. Even though the majority of them were slave owners, would they be surprised that we fought The Civil War based upon the economics, extravagant lifestyle, and power that slavery brought to a small number of people of the Southern states? Would they be surprised that the power of those few men – who would fancy themselves as kings – would be enough to convince hundreds of thousands of men to march to their deaths in the bloodiest battles this country has ever seen in order to maintain their wealth and power? They would be extremely dismayed, feeling they had failed, that all three co-equal branches of government – the checks and balances they designed to prevent the very moment we find ourselves in – have failed to withstand the evils of hate and racism and power and greed.

Unchecked greed. Me, me, me. When is enough, enough? Are you willing to sell your soul or the soul of the country to line your pockets with more, more, more when you have enough to last multiple lifetimes? I was told back in August 2024, as the presidential election loomed, “I despise him but he’s great for my pocketbook.” For the record, I find that incredibly disgusting but, there you go, the current United States of America boiled down to one sentence. Our oligarchical, fascist government made no secret of their plans. It was printed – right in plain sight – for all to see. But money and power – or the idea of money and power – blinds all. Whether it’s the promise of cheaper eggs or cheaper gas or the hope that one day you too can fleece your proverbial neighbor for all they have, then spit in their eye. Unfortunately, this is who we’ve always been. Our history proves it. It just took these last ten years or so for it to be brought out in the open, made okay to say, to do. It’s downright disheartening and infuriating at the same time.

A famous American football coach once said, “You are what your record says you are.” The United States is what our voting record says we are. We had the option of electing two highly successful, intelligent, and capable women – both wanting, planning, hoping to give the citizens of this country universal health care for starters. Instead, we elected the most amoral, racist, unethical, corrupt, lying, putrid piece of flesh to ever masquerade as president. Twice. And before the second time, he had been convicted of thirty-four felonies and found guilty of sexual assault. It does not matter in the eyes of the world who voted for evil. We, the people of the United States, own this evil and all that it has wrought on the world. This is who we are our record say so.

And, so again, what are we celebrating? Is it the idea, the hope, the promise of democracy or the expectation that democracy will always be here – unattended by the very citizens that expect it to be a working, breathing, and most importantly, a functioning and representative democracy? Democracy takes hard and quite often uncomfortable work and truths. I’m not sure, in all honesty, that the American society, as a whole, has the desire or the ability to do the work. And, that is exactly what the oligarchical, fascist government is banking on.

With the trajectory that we are currently on, we might not last two years let alone another two hundred and fifty years. What are we celebrating? My question is not rhetorical nor does it only have one answer. In a country founded by immigrants, with all the diversities rolled into one breathing, growing mass of humanity, the individual answers should be just as wide-ranging. For diversity is the key – not some generic one-size-fits-all answer. The answer to what we are celebrating is as personal as your right to vote. And, as sacred. And, as important. A simple truth to remember this July 3, 2026.

Many thanks to David McGee for this great review of Street Opera. Find it here.

Available July 10, 2026 on Cupcakes & Muffins. Preorder/Pre-save here.

Tickets here.

My playlist for Saturday, June 27, 2026 on WICN 90.5fm in Worcester, Massachusetts, and globally at wicn.org:

Frank Stokes “Downtown Blues”

Freddie King “Same Old Blues”

Albert King “I’ll Play the Blues for You”

B.B. King “You’re Still My Woman”

Creedence Clearwater Revival “Long as I Can See the Light”

Ted Hawkins “Long as I Can See the Light”

Ted Hawkins “There Stand the Glass”

Vera Ward Hall “I Been Drinking”

Ernest Williams and His Group “Ain’t No Cane on the Brazos”

The Band “Ain’t No Cane on the Brazos”

Jenna Nichols “You, Me, and the Moon”

Eleni Mandell “Can’t You See I’m Soulful”

Shelby Lynne “Lookin’ Up”

Duke Levine “Peace and Love”