What does it mean to say, “I’m an American”?  The makeup of America today is very different compared to 50 years ago.  The total population is over 340 million. Over 16 million are veterans.  We are far removed from the patriots who fought for independence from England.  However, many of the issues that were faced in 1776 remain with us in 2026.  Many of the conflicts between Americans trying to shape a new nation in 1776 remain with us today.

The population in 2026 is diverse and growing slowly in numbers.  Over 83% of Americans live in an urban setting, the inverse of the 1776 United States population.  Many live in cities in coastal states.  There are just under 150 million housing units.  The median home cost is $332,000, with median monthly rent at $1,413.  The median household income is $80,700.  Approximately 10% of Americans live in poverty.

While we still have a relatively young population with a median age of 38.7 years, we are aging.  Only 5.5% of us are under 5 years of age.   Our life expectancy is 78 years with women still outliving men.

While we are still a society dominated by Caucasians at 74.8%, the percentage of Blacks is 13.7% and slowing increasing, as is the percentage of Hispanics at 20%.  Interestingly, just over 14% of the population is foreign born.  In 1776, 60% of Americans were of English descent, which means 40% of the population came from other countries.  Even more interesting is the fact that 21% of the population was black but only 2.5% were slaves.  (We are not even considering Native Americans in this picture!)

Over the past 250 years, racism has been a series of evolving systems that keep reappearing in new forms. The targets, laws, and language change, but the core pattern is the same.  There was a racial hierarchy built to give white people an advantage, and place Black people, Native people, and other communities of color in lesser roles.  There were resistance and progress by reformers at every stage.  Over 250 years, racism in the U.S. is the story of a racial hierarchy built into law, economy, and culture, repeatedly challenged by those it harms. Each time one version is defeated (e.g. slavery, Jim Crow), another version (e.g. segregation, mass incarceration, and structural inequality) emerges alongside ongoing resistance. 

From the late 20th century to today (1970s–2020s) racism shifted into systems rather than explicit laws. The best examples include redlining’s legacy in housing and wealth, school funding gaps, hiring discrimination, and the criminal legal system (e.g., war on drugs, mass incarceration, and policing practices). At the same time, there has been real progress.  Growing political representation, cultural visibility, legal protections, and organized movements (e.g., Black Power and Black Lives Matter) continue to force the country to confront its shameful history and present situation.

The entire history of the U.S. has been a running debate over who gets to make the decisions on slavery, civil rights, the economy, and social policy– states or the federal government. The balance keeps shifting, usually toward federal power when national crises or rights conflicts peak, and back toward states when there are backlashes or decentralizing trends.

Over 250 years, the conflict has not been just abstract theory. It is about whose rules govern people’s lives.  States’ rights arguments have often been used to defend local control over slavery, segregation, and restrictive social policies, but also to experiment with policy innovation and resistance to overbroad national mandates.  Federal supremacy has often been the tool for enforcing civil rights, regulating a national economy, and maintaining a unified legal order, but also for centralizing power and sometimes overriding local democratic choices.

Today, the conflict over race, religion, sex practices/gender, federal executive power, and states’ rights continues.  There is no single picture of a typical American.  There are liberals, conservatives, libertarians, socialists, communists, Nazis, MAGAs, and QANONs.  There are those who are ultra-rich, rich, middle income, lower income, and those who have virtually no income.  There are Muslims, Catholics, Baptists, mainstream Protestants, agnostics, deists, and atheists.  There are whites, blacks, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans.  The variety in American values is vast and not easily described.   The current political scene, as it always has been, is a result of this diversity.  President Washington, in his farewell address, expressed his concern over the development of alliances that might disrupt the young nation’s unity.

If we are so different, what unites Americans?   Consider how the founding fathers reached common ground.  Federalists had to compromise with states’ rights advocates.  Southern plantation owners with slaves had to find common ground with Boston and New York businessmen. Despite their differences, they found common ground and established a republic.  The Constitution is a legal document/agreement among states and individuals with different opinions and goals.  In order to pass the Constitution, ten amendments were required.  These ten amendments were called the Bill of Rights.  The Constitution and Bill of Rights contain the rules that Americans have chosen to live by.  Over time, these rules sometimes needed clarification to keep up with a rapidly changing country. 

The strength of this document has been tested many times since 1776.  The Jacksonian era put many Constitutional issues to the test.  The Civil War nearly ended the “great experiment.”  The Gilded Age saw wealthy robber barons come close to creating an oligarchy.  The Wall Street Putsch of 1933 (Millionaires’ Rebellion) might have succeeded if weren’t for a “whistle blower”.  Today, the Christian nationalist movement has created a new crisis, or perhaps renewed an old one, and people like our president and many in the Republican Party have taken advantage of the sense that somehow America has lost its moral soul and greatness.

Given the turmoil of the past decade, Americans need to put their trust in the Constitution and our Bill of Rights.  We must all insist on a rule of law, not a rule of centralized government that seeks to erode, if not eliminate, the foundation that makes it possible for such a diverse population to live together.  We the People need to take control of our republic and make Congress, the Courts, and the Executive Branch our representatives again.  I urge you to campaign for the candidates that represent your values, then vote.