Our country’s Bicentennial in 1976 was a glorious experience for a 9-year-old boy.  Communities came together to work on Bicentennial projects.  My home county embarked on a multi-year project to restore the 1905 wooden carousel, which had been purchased from Elitch Gardens in 1928.  Picnics, festivals, and colonial costumes were ubiquitous, as were flags adorned with the Bicentennial logo. 

A Freedom Train traversed the country with historic documents which the public could view at each stop.  CBS aired a daily “Bicentennial Minute,” detailing an event from exactly 200 years earlier. 

Merchants and companies embraced the celebration with commemorative red, white and blue signs, banners and commemorative labels.  The NFL even joined the celebration when, in January, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys wore special Bicentennial patches in Super Bowl X.  Disneyland presented a Bicentennial Parade twice each day from July 1775 through September 1776. 

The U.S. Mint produced a series of bicentennial quarter, half-dollar and dollar coins, each stamped 1776-1976, and each with a historic emblem engraved on the back. 

The crown jewel of the celebration – at least in my memory – took place around the Fourth of July when a large international fleet of tall-mast sailing ships, like those that sailed in 1776, converged on New York City and later Boston.  Queen Elizabeth visited Washington, D.C., for the celebration, and Johnny Cash served as Grand Marshall of the Bicentennial Parade which was attended by a half-million people. 

The Bicentennial was about “us” – the America we shared thanks to the vision and courage of our Founding Fathers, as well as that of generations who preserved our freedom and our republic through war and peace.  The celebration brought us together and caused overwhelming majorities to be proud of our country. 

We owe it to today’s younger generations to do the same for America’s 250th birthday, but we’re off to an uncertain start. 

Yes, we have severe political divisions, but that’s not unique to us. The Bicentennial came on the heels of Watergate, the only scandal ever to cause the resignation of the president, and the Vietnam War, which culminated with the humiliating fall of Saigon in April 1975.  If that weren’t enough, 1976 was also a presidential election year, pitting incumbent Gerald Ford, who played only a ceremonial role in the celebration, against Jimmy Carter, who prevailed. 

But our parents and grandparents understood that patriotism requires extending both grace and mercy to our fellow Americans by overlooking our divisions and celebrating what we have together – our history and our communities.  From a young age, they learned pride in America, regardless of which party was in power, and they wanted future generations to share their patriotic spirit.  Our leaders understood, too, that patriotism was bigger than any party or political figure. 

Fifteen years before the Bicentennial, President Kennedy embraced his generation’s responsibility to “assure the survival and success of liberty” when he said: “We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution.  Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans – born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage….” 

Just a few years later, before he became President or even governor of California, Ronald Reagan cautioned, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.  We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream.  It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” 

We can’t do anything about today’s politicians or celebrities who view everything through a self-serving lens, but we can resolve to celebrate America 250 inclusively, regardless of politics or any other dividing factors.  We can each be leaders by demonstrating virtue and character, grace and mercy. 

We owe that much to our children or grandchildren, so they can share memories of this celebration with their loved ones during our Tricentennial in 2076 and every year in the meantime. 

Mark Hillman served as Senate majority leader and state treasurer.  To read more or comment, go to www.MarkHillman.com.