by James "Jimmy" Coulter

America's celebrating a big milestone this year: 250 years since it became an independent nation, founded on the concept of self‑government. At the time, the notion that people could choose their own leaders rather than be ruled by kings was novel, even radical. Many saw it as an experiment doomed to fail.

Yet 250 years later, that radical idea endures. We are still a nation built on the revolutionary premise that all men are created equal, a phrase so familiar now that it's easy to forget how bold it was when first written.

But I also know many Americans don't feel like celebrating right now. With everything happening in the country and the world, some don't feel America is even worth celebrating. I understand that feeling. I've felt it myself.

There's a quote I keep returning to: "There's nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed with what's right with America." It resonates because our founding ideals have never perfectly matched our reality.

Even when Jefferson penned those famous words, "all men are created equal," millions of people were enslaved, treated as property, and counted as fractions of a person. America proclaimed equality long before it practiced it.

But Americans saw that contradiction and fought to close the gap. It took generations of struggle, a civil war, and countless acts of courage, but slavery was abolished, citizenship expanded, and rights extended—and although the history is messy, the arc bent toward justice because people insisted it must.

There have been many times when things were wrong with America, when the country didn't feel like it was living up to its ideals. When black people couldn't use the same facilities. When women couldn't vote. When many people weren't able to openly love whom they loved or marry whom they wanted to marry.

And what made America great is that Americans looked at their country, saw where it fell short, and refused to accept that shortfall. Now we live in a country where (mostly) things are better now than they were previously.

Today, things aren't as good as they can be. America doesn't seem to be living up to the promise "all men are created equal." But the same force that moved this nation forward before can move it forward again.

America is only as good as its people. Its greatness has always depended on citizens willing to engage, to take part, to push their country toward a better version of itself.

And one of the most powerful tools we have is the simplest: the right to vote. It's easy to feel powerless in the face of national problems, but voting is the one civic act every American can take to shape the future. This year's midterm elections give us the chance to choose leaders who reflect the values we want this country to embody.

If you're discouraged, I understand. But discouragement doesn't have to lead to disengagement. The story of America is the story of people who refused to give up on the nation's ideals, even when the nation itself seemed to falter.

As we celebrate 250 years of independence, we're reminded that America was built on an idea, and it becomes great when Americans work to make that idea real. There may be things wrong with America today, but there is nothing wrong that cannot be made right by Americans.

Elizabeth Willing Powel: "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?

Benjamin Franklin: "A republic, if you can keep it."