Participate in Democracy

To the editor:

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, it is most fitting that 2026 is also an election year. All year long, we will be celebrating what our nation has meant in the past to its citizens and to the world. But we also will be thinking about the future and what we want America to become.

The core promises of 1776 were equality, rights and selfgovernment.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” the Declaration of Independence asserts. “That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain, unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

For 250 years, Americans have struggled, argued, preached, fought, debated – and most importantly, voted – on how to balance these rights and how best to promote true happiness.

Again this year, we will disagree on where the right balance is found. But hopefully we will reflect on the progress we’ve made, the bountiful land that has emerged, and the good that has been done all over the world thanks to what we started in 1776.

Let’s begin this new year with a resolution to participate in our great democracy, to strengthen our treasured republic, and to celebrate our unmatched heritage. Every ballot we cast, every election we vote in protects and extends our 250 years of liberty.

Larry C. Jackson, Chair Fayette County Semiquincentennial Commission