I would genuinely love to know what it felt like for people who lived through major celebrations of this country in decades past, because celebrations right now feel a bit… off.
Queue the Patriotic Charlie Brown voice: It seems like everyone is supposed to be excited. Mattress companies and car dealerships are running their America 250 specials, Walmart has their made in other countries red white and blue products out, and yet there just seems to be something missing surrounding this enormous anniversary for the United States.
Maybe it is just me? If you are feeling it too, maybe it is just you! Of course, for every person feeling that way, there are probably plenty of others proudly hanging decorations and embracing the American 250 celebration with excitement and genuine patriotism. But something feels different.
When you look back through old fishwrappers and faded pieces of history from previous eras, it always feels like celebrations were bigger. Communities seemed more connected. The pride looked more visible. Maybe nostalgia distorts things, but history often paints that picture, with the Bicentennial seemingly being the most brilliant of all celebrations.. even black and white newspapers seemingly are filled with the patriotic colors..
Heck the Queen showed up and Johnny Cash was a parade marshall during the spirit of 76..
Here is Frackville PA in 1976:
Here is one from PA’s state capitol Harrisburg ..
We are fond of these old videos.. and there are plenty more still to be found.. Imagine the hidden videos still tucked away in basements or attics that we don’t even know exist yet!
But all of the images equally give a shock to the senses.. how much things have changed.. progress led to problems. Not all boats were lifted in rising tides and when the water levels are low, we all feel trapped in a daze of old glory mixed with a sense of patriotism in a past sense.. nostalgia has been replaced with anger..
Or maybe this is part of something larger. Perhaps it is simply the slow decline of small town America. Here in northeastern Pennsylvania, many towns have become hollow versions of what they once were. Industry faded. Populations shrank. Traditions quietly disappeared. There was a time when school bands filled long parade routes, floats moved through packed streets, and celebrations felt like the heartbeat of entire communities. That is not necessarily a reflection on the people living there today, but more the changing atmosphere that happens when communities slowly lose population, industry, and identity.
There is a really cool Reddit thread called Ask Old People (funny) … there is a pretty big discussion that focuses on just how big the 1976 celebrations were.. It seems like marketing was as big as it is now if not bigger.. From one post:
It was a huge deal. I graduated HS in 1976 and my memory of it is that it was mostly just a huge commercialization ploy. There was Bicentennial everything. From toothpaste to special edition cars if they could paint it red, white, and blue, they did. I have no idea the amount of “special edition” Bicentennial crap that was sold with the idea that it would someday become collectible. I suppose some of it actually did but most of it ended up in a landfill.
Another noted the interesting juxtaposition of the bicentennial right after traumatic national events.. After Vietnam and Watergate, the USA was feeling pretty down and the Spirit of 76 made people overall just feel a little better..
One more post from the Ask Old People thread:
It was pretty huge. It wasn’t just the actual birthday, but there was a big wave of subtle/not-so-subtle patriotism leading up to and continuing after 1976. It may have been fueled in part by people desperate to feel good after the turbulent 60s and getting out of Vietnam. There was certainly a lot of Red White and Blue branding going on – for example, Wonder Woman premiered in April 1976.
I’m a little concerned about 2026 – Waving a flag seems to mean something different today than it did in 1976 and it’s hard for me to picture a unified celebration.
That part rings true.. 2026, waving a flag seems to have a whole new meaning.. It seems divisive when it should not be.. It just all feels strange at the moment..
One of the scenes in television history has always been the final episode of The Wonder Years, where Kevin Arnold reflects on the closing chapter of his life in the 1960s and 1970s, including the death of his father, all while beautiful melancholy music plays against scenes of a Fourth of July celebration in his hometown. Fireworks. Americana. Family. Nostalgia. It captures it all:
I think that nostalgic view dominates how people imagine pride itself or great American celebrations. Maybe those moments really were bigger than life.
Maybe these moments never existed quite the way we imagine them, and we were simply led to believe they did. Or perhaps the truth is stranger…. those celebrations once existed exactly as we remember them, but somehow they do not exist in the same way anymore.
So how are you feeling, America?
Soaring with pride?
Or quietly drifting somewhere between nostalgia and sadness at 250?
