Reflection:  As we prepare to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States, my faith in America’s foundational promises—enshrined in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence—has been deeply shaken in the era of Trump.  Trump, the Modern-Day Republican party, the US Supreme Court, and his supporters have ushered in the worst of America. I do not love this version of our country. Today, I find it difficult to sing our national anthem, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, or fly the American flag. Hearing those words and seeing those symbols has become a painful reminder of our nation’s hypocrisy.

Unbridled Patriotism:  As with other centennial celebrations, many Americans will find themselves caught up in an unbridled patriotism centered around the myth of a storybook America. This storybook America narrative depicts our nation as the greatest on Earth—a uniquely chosen land. It portrays the U.S. as a shining city on a hill, unyielding in its dedication to democracy, equality, humanity, liberty, and justice for all.

The Nightmare:  The hallmarks of the Trump Administration are Racism, Corruption, Incompetence, and Fearmongering.  Under the Trump administration, America has systematically abandoned the foundational promises in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence, which lie at the heart of making our nation a more perfect union. MAGA movement is primarily focused on Making America White Again. As its leader, Trump has declared a war on Black people globally—a war that extends directly to Latinos, white women, LGBTQ+, poor whites, and other people of color.  Just as Derek Chauvin held his knee on George Floyd’s neck and killed him, the Trump administration has its knee on the necks of Black and Latino Americans, the LGBTQ+ community, White women, and the poor. Ironically, this oppression is rich in diversity.  Encouragingly, an increasing number of white women and low-income citizens are awakening to the reality that they, too, are targets of this administration. In too many instances, however, these oppressed groups remain entirely invisible to Trump and his army of supporters…a willful blindness.

In Matthew 22;36-39, Jesus listed our greatest commandments.  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself”.  Trump preaches and practices the gospel of hate and exclusion, and far too many religious leaders have joined that chorus. In his 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “I have been so greatly disappointed with the white church and its leadership.” Regrettably, Dr. King would issue the exact same stinging indictment against the white church today.

Tipping Point: Throughout my life, I believed in being respectful and tolerant of others’ political views. That changed on January 6, 2021, when I watched Donald Trump lead an insurrection to upend our democracy. From that moment on, I saw him as an existential threat to our nation. When he was re-elected, I was deeply shocked that 77 million Americans still voted for him.

With the end of that grace period, my approach shifted from simple tolerance to unyielding accountability. Through willful blindness, Trump’s supporters are actively enabling his racism, corruption, incompetence, and fearmongering. By continuing to support him, they are directly accountable for taking a wrecking ball to our country.

The Reality: 77 million Americans Voted for Donald Trump

We must reckon with the fact that 77 million citizens in the 2024 presidential election cast their ballots for a person defined by the traits listed below. These voters have turned a willfully blind eye to Trump’s racism, corruption, incompetence, and fearmongering:

• A Convicted Felon and Con Man: A corrupt figure whom the U.S. Supreme Court effectively granted a license to abuse power.
• A Credibly Defined Aggressor: A judicially designated rapist and likely pedophile.
• A Devout Racist: The modern-day figurehead of the white supremacist movement.
• A Wrecking Ball to Democracy: A man who actively dismantles democratic norms by weaponizing claims of institutional voter fraud. Trump led an insurrection
• An Admirer of Autocracy: A leader who openly praises figures like Hitler, Stalin, and Putin.
• A Threat to Global Stability: A politician who has threatened entire nations, such as Iran, with genocide, and who launched an unnecessary escalatory war against it.
• A Disdain for Service: A man who famously disparaged military veterans as “suckers” and “losers” to include our beloved Senator John McCain. 
• A Betrayal of Alliances: A leader who turned his back on NATO and Ukraine in favor of alignment with Russia.
• An Assailant of Moral Authority: A man who has publicly attacked the Pope while blasphemously portraying himself as Jesus.

Attacks on Our Democracy

• The Judicial Wrecking Ball: The U.S. Supreme Court has dealt devastating blows to our democratic infrastructure through Citizens United and subsequent decisions eviscerating the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act (crowning achievement of the civil rights movement).
• The Erosion of Electoral Trust: Trump’s relentless endeavors to cast U.S. elections as fraudulent persist, despite more than 60 courts finding absolutely no merit in his bogus claims.  “According to a Brennan Center for Justice investigation that analyzed a billion votes, there is a 1 in 1,222,000 chance of being struck by lightning compared to a 1 in 32, 258, 064 chance of committing in person voter fraud”
• Upending the Rule of Law: Trump pardoned all the insurrectionists. The administration has weaponized the Department of Justice to target political enemies, utilized lawless immigration enforcement tactics to maximize the deportation of non-white residents, and operated a corrupt, transactional “pardon-for-pay” system.
• Erosion of First Amendment Rights: Media independence has been heavily compromised, evidenced by mass firings at CBS’s 60 Minutes to appease executive pressure, FCC intimidation directed at late-night hosts like Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert, and targeted deportation threats aimed at international students studying in the

• The Military Contrast:Let’s explicitly contrast Trump’s avoidance of service with his exploitation of the military image. This is profound hypocrisy from an administration that demands absolute, blind patriotism from the public while actively disrespecting the institutional guardrails and actual sacrifices of the armed forces.
• The Economic Weaponization of Autocracy: MAGA movement uses culture wars and racial grievance to win elections, its actual economic policies (such as tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, corporate deregulation, and the dismantling of the social safety net) directly harm the very working-class base that votes for them.

The Pursuit of Inequality: A War on Marginalized Communities

• The Rollback of Civil Rights: The administration has overseen the degradation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the functional abandonment of the 1968 Fair Housing Act by HUD.
• The Purge of Diversity: A full-scale onslaught against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives across federal agencies and corporate America has institutionalized fear, stalling the promotion of Black professionals and women to senior leadership ranks.
• Racial Dehumanization: Executive rhetoric has descended to portraying prominent Black leaders, including Barack and Michelle Obama, in dehumanizing terms.
• The Disproportionate Burden on Federal Workers: Efficiency mandates and DOGE cuts have targeted the livelihood of minority workers. Despite Black women making up roughly 12% of the federal workforce, they bear a striking 33% of all federal job terminations and forced separations.
• Global Devastation: The dismantling of USAID programs threatens to trigger a humanitarian catastrophe in Africa, with projections suggesting between 14 and 22 million preventable deaths by 2030—up to 75% of which will occur in African nations. This aligns with a foreign policy that routinely demeans African nations as “shitholes” while favoring immigrants exclusively from predominantly white countries like Norway.

US Global Leader in the Wrong Metrics

• #1 in prison incarceration rates
• #1 in gun ownership
• #1 in economic inequality for major developed world
• #2 poverty rate in the major developed world
• Healthcare exclusion, standing as the only major developed nation without universal coverage—Big Beautiful Bill is expected to strip 10 to 14 million Americans of their health insurance by 2034.

Conclusion:  At this stage of my life, I do not love this version of America. America has yet to deliver on the foundational promises enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution — and what is even more disturbing, our country is now in full retreat from those promises. From personal experience, I have learned that if you are Black in this country, you must perpetually navigate the presumption of being dangerous, guilty, and incompetent — regardless of your stature in life. This is exhausting.

It is deeply perplexing and disturbing to witness how millions of our fellow citizens continue to support an administration defined by systemic racism, corruption, incompetence, and fearmongering. In his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King Jr. famously compared America’s foundational promises to a promissory note that returned as a bad check. The fight today in 2026 remains the exact same struggle for the soul of our nation that took place in 1776 and 1963. Yet, America’s original ideals remain worth fighting for, even if our nation has historically defaulted on its promise to deliver a more perfect union. I will continue to fight against this tyranny and a movement principally guided by white supremacy because I recognize that justice is a constant struggle. I want to love my country again, because it is worth saving.  The quote below perfectly summarizes my thoughts on America as we celebrate our 250^th Birthday

“We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist”.

James Baldwin 

Important Questions: 

1. What does the 250th Fourth of July celebration mean to Black Americans, Latinos, LGBTQ+ individuals, women, and the impoverished as they endure the weight of Trump administration’s oppression in plain sight?
2. For those who continue to support Trump, what are your “Red” Lines?

A Call to Action: In Fall 2026, we must vote — vote — vote as if our democracy depends on it, because it does. Americans must confront the ugly underbelly of this nation, which continuously betrays the professed ideals enshrined in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Unbridled patriotism, devoid of critical analysis, merely masks the systemic cruelty playing out before our eyes. Our ultimate challenge is to hold a mirror up to ourselves and honestly reckon with our nation’s hypocrisy. Those who have been misled must awaken from their slumber — the time for complacency is over. 

About the Author
Col. Eric Garvin (USAF, Ret.) is a retired United States Air Force officer, leadership strategist, and nationally respected speaker. Throughout his career, he has championed leadership, integrity, public service, and civic engagement. His commentary reflects his personal views and his lifelong commitment to strengthening America through thoughtful dialogue and principled leadership.