June 2, 2026
On July 4, 2026, the United States of America will observe and celebrate its 250th anniversary. This has a special designation: A 250-year period or anniversary is called a semiquincentennial. That term is a combination of Latin words: Semi - half; Quin - five; Centennial - 100th anniversary.
The large countries that manage to remain in existence for many, many years are identified as an “empire.” Examples are: The Roman Empire, the British Empire, the Russian Empire; the Mongol Empire, and the Persian Empire. Whether the United States of America is an empire or not can be debated. However, because it has existed for 250 years, it is often discussed in terms of being an empire.
Once, empires were thought to last maybe 300 years, and some lasted much longer. More recently, that has been reduced to around 250 years. And that is where we Americans find ourselves. How much longer will our “empire” last?
In some ways, the country is stable. Its design is head and shoulders above any other in history. However, there are other countries and factions that want to see our demise. And, worse, there are those within the country that want to weaken its strong foundation, and dramatically change it.
Ryan McMaken wrote a piece for the Mises Wire in April titled, “We Are Living in the Fourth American Republic.” It covers four steps since our founding that detail how the country has moved away from the fundamentals established in the U.S. Constitution, and how that is not recognized by either the Democrats or the Republicans in government.
“There is a certain subspecies of conservatives in which the members seem impervious to the abundant evidence all around us that the constitution of the ‘founding fathers’ is a dead letter and the old American republic is now a relic of the past,” he wrote.
“The constitutional order … ceased to exist at least a century ago. The constitution itself — that is, the one ratified in 1788 — hasn’t been in force for a very long time.”
“Many Americans have a certain gift for allowing themselves to be deceived into believing that the words of the written constitution actually describe the de facto reality around us,” he said.
“So, the fact that politicians swear an oath to the old 1787 constitution manages to fool many people into thinking that the politicians actually care what the original intent of the constitution was. An honest assessment of the state of American politics should make it clear today’s politicians — like most politicians over the past century — couldn’t care less about such antiquated notions.”
Whatever the degree of truth one might believe that statement holds, it is clear that one side of the political aisle is much farther from the original intent of the Founders than the other. One side is holding true to what it believes the Constitution says and means, while the other is working overtime to change those fundamental features that deny them the path to total and perpetual power, as well as other changes in the operation of government.
The Democrats want to make Washington, DC a state, a move that would undo something deliberately avoided by the Founders, who believed no state should house the federal capital, because of the degree of power that state would accrue. They also want to make Puerto Rico a state.
On their list is doing away with the Electoral College. However, the Founders wanted to ensure that every state has a meaningful voice in electing the President, hence it was created.
On their list as well is that upon the next Democrat President being elected, pack the Supreme Court by adding additional justices selected by the new President to give the Court a liberal majority forever.
And, there are steps in their method of change that are already under way. Certain career areas where politics is not supposed to exist have been polluted by politically-motivated players.
The brilliant Thomas Sowell, one of today’s most intelligent and thoughtful observers, has warned that we should be aware of our country’s destruction from the inside.
We see prosecutors and judges who ignore existing laws because they disagree with them, giving benefits to the guilty they do not deserve, while preventing victims from getting the benefits they do deserve. If laws are disliked, change them. But do not simply ignore them.
We see “protesters” who object to certain laws and legal actions eagerly breaking laws in an effort to stop what they dislike.
And there’s the degradation of public education by teachers and administrators who improperly replace the traditional curricula with their preferred types of instruction. Critical Race Theory instead of actual history, for example.
Meanwhile, Republicans, conservatives, and others who oppose these efforts will continue to reverse those actions already in place, and to prevent the others from getting put in place.
It is really sad that so many do not understand why our system is worthy of protection. After years of oppressive, unfair rule, the colonies rebelled, and formed a system that guaranteed personal freedom and an end to authoritarian rule. Yet, today, many prefer a return to authoritarian rule, with them in charge.
