Two commissions plan separate 250th anniversary events
The United States’ 250th birthday has brought ambitious plans from nonprofits and major corporations to galvanize Americans, but the efforts face an uneasy national mood, according to the Associated Press.
Well-known U.S. nonprofits aim to inspire a record-setting level of volunteerism, while companies including Walmart and Coca-Cola are sponsoring tributes and selling limited-edition merchandise, the AP reported. The private sector’s unifying ambitions have encountered a mixed response.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey found that fewer Americans see their country as exceptional compared with 10 years ago, a sign of broader decline in patriotic sentiment. Views of the American flag — a symbol prominent in semiquincentennial celebrations — are divided along political, age and racial lines, the AP reported.
Two separate commissions have organized rival events. America250, the official nonpartisan group created by Congress in 2016, has prepared programming for the anniversary. President Donald Trump late last year established Freedom 250, a nonprofit led by his allies, to produce alternative events, according to the AP.
The split reflects conflicted feelings around the anniversary, the AP reported.