I am lucky to be American, but I know we have problems | Your Turn

How do you feel about our country and about being American?

Fifty years ago, during the celebration of the country's 200th anniversary, the answers to those questions for many might have been simple and positive. Now, after decades as the lone superpower where we face no existential threat from a heavily armed ideologically opposed nation, Americans seem freer to explore their feelings about citizenship and patriotism. The presence of a polarizing leader in the form of President Donald Trump certainly heightens that.

With the approach of our 250th anniversary, we asked you, our USA TODAY readers, to grapple with your relationship with your country. The answers were illuminating and ranged from pride to shame to hope. You'll find a sample of them below.

Do you want to weigh in? Lend your voice to the latest conversation by visiting usatoday.com/forum, leaving us a voicemail at (202) 655-3923 or by dropping a note at forum@usatoday.com

I'm so lucky to have been born here

The best thing about the United States is with hard work and a dream, you can succeed at whatever you set your mind to do.

The worst thing about the United States is people's need for social media and the influence it has created on critical issues, to the determent to all.

The best, or most impactful, thing the United States has done in its 250-year history is President Abraham Lincoln freeing enslaved people . Having enslaved people is the worst thing the country has done, in my estimation.

I am very proud to be an American in this land of the free and home of the brave. My grandfather immigrated here legally in the early 1900s, and he assimilated.

I feel so lucky to be a native-born American and for what it has given me: a free life to make my own destiny. I feel patriotism is declining because of social media, artificial intelligence, a lack of any motivation in the generations after my cohorts and the decline of face-to-face social interaction with people.

About the two 250th anniversary events – America250, the official nonpartisan commission established by Congress, and Freedom 250, led by President Donald Trump – there is enough to celebrate to have two celebrations. I don't think they are competing, per se. I say try and enjoy both if you can. Don't discourage either. The intentions are honest. I will try to join a celebration, but it's really hot where I live, and rural. There's not much happening in my small town.

This country's a republic, if we can keep it, I have read. We need to get back to our roots and soon. Go to church, do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Say something positive to all you encounter. Think outside of the box.

- Patricia Bassi, Arizona

We are no longer the shining light

The first 240 years of our existence were pretty outstanding for the most part. I was proud to be an American. With the election of Trump in 2016, we have (our government) shown ourselves to be racist, shortsighted and cruel agitators in world events and no longer the shining light to the world. When I go to Europe, now I claim I am Canadian to escape any wrath for being an American these days.

The people who elected that man need to apologize to the children of this country because we will not recover from this, and soon we will be what we used to hate ‒ Russia, communism, unwanted conquerors.

The best things to come out of our history is the defeat of England and Lincoln winning the Civil War. The worst is Trump and how he is defiling our world and country.

Because of that, I am not proud to be an American.

There is no more patriotism in this country, we are invaders and not protectors as we used to be. My friends in Costa Rica and other countries wonder what has happened to us and why we are so different. One word: Trump.

I will not watch, attend or acknowledge the festivities. I am retiring and taking my money out of this country. There is no hope for this country. The 49.8% of voters who picked Trump in the last presidential election will reap what they sowed.

- Jimmy Waggoner, Colorado

I grew up under a communist regime

The best thing about the United States: opportunities for everyone regardless races, genders, ages ...

The worst thing right now: dishonest and biased mainstream media.

The most impactful thing this country has done in its history: playing a critical role in saving the world from evil forces such as Nazism, communism and terrorism.

The worst thing: There were mistakes, but they were understandable and nothing terrible.

Yes, I am so proud to be an American. I grew up under a communist regime in Asia and suffered so much there. Living in America is an opposite situation where I have all of the things I wished for including personal freedom, good education and a decent job. I greatly admire the pioneer spirit and work habits of American people and especially the beauty of the U.S. Constitution. To me, America is truly a city upon a hill blessed by God as mentioned in the Bible.

I love America so much, so being patriotic is a good way for me to confirm the love I devote to the nation.

The decline of patriotism is the direct result of the rise of the progressive, woke and far-left movement, which is supported by corrupted politicians, living-in-the-bubble elites and dishonest corporate news.

I think both the celebrations are good events for real American people. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend either of them. However, I do celebrate the nation's 250th birthday in my own way. I decorate my house with U.S. flags and patriotic signs. Especially, I wrote a song, titled "Happy 250th Birthday, America."

Hopefully, the far-left movement will end soon and our beloved country will be great again. I truly hope that corrupted Democrats will never be able to control the Congress and the White House. And I also hope America will still be the greatest nation on earth thousands of years from now.

- Alex Tran, Illinois

Beyond toxic narratives, America is great

The best thing about America is its foundational principles, being rooted in English common law where liberty is supposed to be the default condition of citizens. This tradition was also strongly informed by the Christian law of liberty, where people under Jesus are free before God to do what is allowed by their conscience.

The worst thing might be how America treated some of the Native American groups. There were legitimate wars and conflicts on the frontier, but events like the Trail of Tears and other situations where the U.S. government broke treaties and treated Native Americans as if they were inferior is just inexcusable.

I could have picked slavery as the worst thing, but that was a structural problem where people were permitted to own and abuse other people until the practice was outlawed.

The most systemic abuses were against the Native Americans, and some of those abuses continue to present.

From a historical perspective, the United States has saved the world from tyranny at least twice within the past 100 years. We helped stop Adolf Hitler. We stopped the military advance of the Japanese imperial state. We checked the Soviet Union. More recently, we put a stop to Iran's advancing capabilities to strike other nations, including places in Europe, with nuclear-armed ballistic missiles.

The worst thing we might have done is enable oppressive regimes to exist via foreign aid. This was not an intentional outcome, but it happened. And rather than let despotic regimes collapse under their own weight, they continued to remain financially viable.

Am I proud to be an American? I would say so. This is my home. I have a great deal of appreciation for what America is and what it is supposed to be. I am frustrated with our struggles to live up to our own ideals. If we lived up to our own ideals, there would be little to criticize.

I am sad that as we come up on our 250th birthday, the narrative in the media and among members of the public seems overwhelmingly negative. We have a lot of problems, but most of them are fixable or could be resolved if we chose to live and govern by our founding principles instead of our current strategies.

Mark Twain said it best: "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

I echo that sentiment. I separate love of country from love of government. Our founders would have agreed with this. When they wrote our Declaration of Independence, they wrote about the right of the governed to alter or abolish governments that become destructive to their objectives. The loyalty should be to our nation first and to our government when it is serving our nation's best interests.

Today, we have a situation where different factions want to weaponize the government to control the people they don't like. That is fundamentally un-American. Also, there is an entire generation of younger people who have been indoctrinated into believing that even the best qualities of America do not redeem America because the only thing that matters about America is its sin.

The left looks at America's treatment of Native Americans, the legacy of slavery and systemic environmental neglect and points to those as the reasons why America was never great and never can be great because those sins can never be erased or forgiven.

The religious right views the private choices of individuals through a broadly collectivistic lens and defines America by drug abuse, abortion, feminism, fornication, crime, pornography, materialism and so forth.

Both groups focus disproportionally on the negative and neglect the positive. Neither side seems to have a grasp on the concepts of freedom, forgiveness or reconciliation.

As for the 250th anniversary celebrations, I am going to be commercial fishing during July Fourth, so I have not been paying much attention.

I want our country to be good. America has a great tradition of generosity, hospitality, concern for others, concern for the environment, concern for general welfare and concern for individual liberty. These are great qualities, but they are being threatened by toxic narratives on all sides of political and cultural issues.

We can solve these if we want to, but we refuse to listen to one another and show proper concern for the needs of our fellow citizens. We will not survive an additional 20 years if we continue tearing each other apart like we have been for the past 20 years. The left and the right need to have a truce of some kind, find some way to work together and permit accommodations for our differences. If we cannot do that, we won't have a country. If we cannot ensure that the people living in this country have America's best interests at heart or are, at least, not hostile to America's interests, we are not going to survive.

Forget the billionaires, the Russians, the Chinese or whatever other group of villains. We have been our own worst enemy, and we need to get a handle on that.

- Nolan Willis, Alaska

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: I am lucky to be American, but I know we have problems | Your Turn

Reporting by Opinion Forum, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 1:30 AM.