Editor’s Note — Play this tune while reading… https://youtu.be/s_pSJOkmYBA?is=N5RW7xjkUgq4FinX
It has come to this — the United States of America is now 250 years old!
We love you America! Happy Birthday, but how in the Wide World of Sports did our democracy last this long considering all the hostilities in the world?
I have a theory.
Please follow my thinking here. Despite what some people think or believe, we actually live in a very fluid environment. The environment evolves, education soars or falls, economies come or go, peace arrives, then disappears, fashions change, the latest technology can be both very helpful and very frightening all at the same time.
Due to our fluid environment, my reading of history, says that America has a true basic, thriving foundation. What started with a shaky Boston Tea Party, and a proverbial slap in the face to King George III of England has grown to allow our democracy to have a consistent tripod foundation since 1776:
- The We’re Good Group — One third of early Americans wanted to keep King George III taking care of the new territories.
- The We Can Do Better Group — One third of early Americans wanted to be self-governed. They wanted to live by their own rules and build a thriving democracy.
- The We’ll Decide Later Group — One third of early Americans couldn’t pick a side, they were undecided for the longest time.
How much has changed in 250 years?
- The We’re Good Group — One third of current Americans identify as Republicans who stand for Limited Government & Constitutionalism, Free-Market Economics, Individual Responsibility, Social Conservatism, and Strong National Defense.
- The We Can Do Better Group — One third of current Americans identify as Democrats who stand for Economic Fairness, Healthcare and Education Investments, Civil Rights and Social Equity, Climate and Environment Investments, Gun Safety and Immigration Reform.
- The We’ll Decide Later Group — One third of current Americans identify as Independents who stand for Pragmatic Problem-Solving, Economic Stability & Choice, Social Tolerance, Individual Empowerment.
As I mentioned, living in a fluid environment means that like a pendulum swinging back and forth administrations change in America the past 250 years depending on everyone’s feelings on election days. Although we have a strong two-party political system which are often going in different directions, it’s the measured Independent Group in the middle that often provides the winning margins for both propositions and politicians.
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” is from William Shakespeare’s play “As You Like It.” It seems that many Americans in their lifetimes try different dance partners among The We’re Good Group, The We Can Do Better Group, and The We’ll Decide Later Groups.
Current Americans are very lucky because of all that work 250 years ago.
Despite our current administration’s criminal behaviors, we are not truly ruled by a monarchy or despot who use rules to stay in power. Doctrines do not ultimately motivate Americans, new evidence does, new successes do. Americans generally want to be on a winning side. However, the miracle of America is much like a self-sustaining garden, a variety of Americans keeps growing, changing, and evolving. Nonetheless, these newer generations of Americans ultimately accept the challenge and responsibility to help pick a fair approach for self-government.
Who Are the New Americans?
- In July 1776, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the population of the newly declared United States was approximately 2.5 million people. In 1776, the average life expectancy at birth in America was between 35 and 40 years.
- In 1816, the estimated population of the United States was roughly 8.6 to 8.9 million people. By 1816 — four decades after the founding of the nation — the average life expectancy at birth in America had barely budged, remaining between 35 and 40 years.
- In 1856, the estimated population of the United States was roughly 24.8 million people. By 1856, the average life expectancy at birth in America had edged up slightly, sitting at roughly 38 to 43 years.
- In 1896, the estimated population of the United States was roughly 71 million people. By 1896, the average life expectancy at birth in America had risen significantly, reaching approximately 43 to 47 years.
- In 1943, the estimated population of the United States was roughly 136.7 million people. By 1943 — the midpoint of World War II — overall life expectancy at birth in America had leaped to 63.3 years.
- In 2003, the estimated population of the United States was roughly 290 million people. By 2003, the average life expectancy at birth in America reached a record high of 77.7 years.
- Currently, In 2026, the estimated population of the United States was roughly 349 million people. By 2026, the average life expectancy at birth in America reached a record high of 79 years.
- In 2106, the estimated population of the United States will be roughly 435 million, depending heavily on immigration rates. According to long-range projections from agencies like the U.S. Census Bureau and the Social Security Administration Actuary, the average life expectancy at birth in America in 2106 is projected to be around 84 to 86 years.
In 250 Years, We’ve Been Intermittently Very Busy
So, The United States of America is basically just 6.3 generations old.
Waves of immigrates arrived, populations grew, and Manifest Destiny arrived — that 19th-century belief that the United States was divinely ordained to expand its territory across the entire North American continent. It was used to justify westward expansion, the spread of American democracy and capitalism, and the displacement of Indigenous and Mexican populations.
I’ll save us the bother of chronicling all our success and failures in the past 250 years. However, the funny part is that 80 percent of Americans still live east of the 98th meridian (which runs in a straight line through the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas). In a sense, by a large margin, most Americans at one time or another said, “We’re Good!” We’re taking a break. We don’t need to move any further West!
In Conclusion
My theory, which I’m calling America’s Longevity Dance Theory, has had three equal groups of Americans who use three different operating systems on what they truly want. So far, we have enough elasticity in our governmental affairs that one group has never truly broken free from the other two groups for very long. At times, we make real progress, but at other times we also have both the capability and complacency to fall back again too.
It’s as though French Composer Maurice Ravel’s “Boléro” is constantly playing in the background around the country as the three groups play musical chairs. When election days arrive, one group suddenly discovers it has no chairs to use for a little while.
Plus, although the We’re Good Group, the We Can Do Better Group, and the We’ll Decide Later Group keep their consistent approach, the actual members of each group expand or contract as those group members all play musical chairs too. In a fluid environment these individual voters churn as they move about from one group to another group, much like consumers picking different cellular phone services occasionally to find the best performance!
But the pendulum of politics never stops.
Sometimes the majority is motivated for progress. Other times, no one wants to make any big decisions. Still, other times the majority will simply say, “We’re Good!” because right now, we are going to be a little selfish and keep things the same for a while.
In some ways, during our first 250 years, we had it easier.
Using the musical chairs approach for a thriving democracy among our three groups of citizens has worked for us. However, for most of our history we have had much more breathing room.
Currently, our challenges are stacking up on us:
- Cultivating a “Democratic Culture”
- Economic Adaptability and Inclusion
- Overpopulation
- Environmental decay
- Dwindling resources
Procrastinating to find real solutions by occasionally taking those “We’re Good!” breaks will only cause our problems to exacerbate.
Keep dancing the good dance America but take fewer breaks, please!
To keep the United States of America strong for the next 250 years we need to address our challenges now as a group to be better people, so we can find more fair and practical ways to make room for everyone and lead the world to a better place.
President Ronald Regan said it best for me when he used the “shining city on a hill” metaphor to symbolize American exceptionalism which represented a prosperous, free, and welcoming nation built on strong foundations, serving as a beacon of hope and a model of democratic freedom for the rest of the world.
What do you say we get back to work after this weekend’s patriotic birthday party!
Everybody dances now! USA, USA, USA!
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