Saturday, Jul. 04, 2026

Welcome to a special edition of the MS NOW Daily newsletter.

On the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, MS NOW’s series “America in the Balance: The Fight for Our History and Future” features eight writers wrestling with our country’s promises and contradictions. Baptist minister Brian Kaylor expresses approval that ours is not a Christian nation. Tom Ginsburg, an expert on the world’s constitutions, imagines a new Constitution for the U.S., and Sheryll Cashin celebrates the founders who spoke out against slavery from the start.

Deborah Archer suggests a civil rights framework that would honor the Declaration of Independence, and Helaine Olen explains why the pursuit of happiness is increasingly hard to afford. Anthony Fisher longs for a less partisan semiquincentennial, and retired Marine fighter pilot Richard Westmoreland explains his ambivalence on this 250th anniversary. Christian Schneider, who champions America’s greatness, argues that our government deserves only a little credit for it.

America is not just a country; it’s an experiment, and these writers have thoughts on how it’s working out.

— Jarvis DeBerry, editor

THE ESSAYS

What Christian nationalists are hoping we’ll forget about America

BRIAN T. KAYLOR

The Christian nationalist version of the founding of the United States represents a deliberate attempt to forcibly baptize America and transform the nation into something it isn’t — and something the founders never intended it to be. Read more.

Illustration of founding fathers singing the Constitution

The U.S. Constitution is remarkable — but what would it look like if we rewrote it today?

TOM GINSBURG

The idea of a national constitution is the United States’ enduring gift to the world, but the document has anomalies that make little sense. Read more.

The truth about our country’s founding Trump keeps trying to bury

SHERYLL CASHIN

Some of the founders were willing to give up the benefits of white supremacy. It is important at this moment that we remember them. Read more.

The Declaration of Independence’s promise of liberty falls short. There’s only one way to fix it.

DEBORAH N. ARCHER

Not only do we need to restore the Voting Rights Act, but we also need more similarly constructive civil rights laws that reorient our racial justice framework. Read more.

America at 250 has a trillionaire. And a government making it harder for millions to eat.

HELAINE OLEN

Americans have rarely faced inequality like this. Our president is telling us to just get over it. Read more.

An illustration of a ferris wheel outside of the Capitol

We should be exalting this major American milestone. Instead we’ve got Trump’s Great American State Fair.

ANTHONY L. FISHER

The administration’s weak attempt to commemorate our 250th year has so far been a nonevent, attended by extraordinarily few, and focused on divisiveness and exclusion instead of the unity we need. Read more.

I want America to go back to being the country I fought for

RICHARD WESTMORELAND, LT. COL. MARINE CORPS (RET.)

I don’t think the average U.S. citizen appreciates the sheer luck involved in the founding of our nation. But we can’t count on luck to get us back to where we need to be. We need a renewed commitment to the American idea. Read more.

An illustration of people gathered in a crowd waving american flags

America is bigger than its government — and Trump

CHRISTIAN SCHNEIDER

As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, it is important to recognize that our nation’s greatness isn’t the result of legislative or executive action, but in the things we actually do together. Read more.

229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036

PRIVACY | CONTACT | UNSUBSCRIBE