Is there a cause for Celebration?

An essay on principles and pandering- In America. Brian Keeler

No Irish need apply-

The New York Times ( June 28,2026) beat me to the punch with the headline for their opinion section in the Sunday edition,  there's being, "It's America's Birthday, What Are We Celebrating?"

Good question, and the obvious answer is we are celebrating the declaration of independence, the principles and revolution that separated us from the British monarchy and autocratic rule. It was a vision of hope and self-determination that continues to inform us as a nation. It is sometimes said that this has been a 250 year experiment in democracy.

Painting by the author, "Fourth of July Nocturne- Fleetville, PA." This painting of a street corner on a July night shows some of the aspects of a former era- but not that long ago as the painting is from circa 2003.

  We all grew up with these principles of democracy along with many ideals and dreams. Just reflect on our upbringing- perphaps time in the Boy Scouts (for myself), our teachers, community leaders, parents and friends, our church or many others. Perhaps books, movies of inspired politicians may have been part of the mix. Recall JFK's impassioned, ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country,   Or Martin Luther King's, I Have a Dream speech. Or even more recently, Michelle Obama's speech- when they go low we go high. Truly rousing and inspiring stuff.

Above- a painting by the author, "Parade Watchers" This work reflects the ideals of our nation in community event- the annual summer firemens' parade. This slice of life, is a depiction of Americana, in small town America- Keeler's hometown, Wyalusing, PA.

The truth is, we are living in a time when our vision of a better world is undermined, defiled,

corrupted and cast asunder by our president and his vile lackeys and enablers. Some would even say we are witnessing the complete moral collapse and implosion of our founding principles. So maybe you'll forgive me if the upcoming national holiday this weekend has a less-than-celebratory mood.

There's no shortage of violations of our founding fathers' principles and ideals.  The NY Times had a list on the front on their November 9, 2025 opinion page that just scratched the surface.  Here's the list of transgressions perpetrated by the DT according to the Times editorial board:

*Persecuted opponents

*Bypassed Congress

*Sent Troops into cities

* Defied the courts

*Changed election rules

*Vilified minorities

*Enriched himself

*Where will it end?

You and I can probably think easily of dozens of other affronts to our nation carried out by this administration.  They are not small. 

Here's a few of my own-

*Insulting anyone and everyone 

*Desecrating the White House

* Pardoning the worst criminals

*Sex cirmes and covictions of 34 felony counts

*Making a mockery of justice

* Putting self above country

* Undermining our museums and the arts

*Theatening to attack a NATO nation

*Perpetrating falsehoods and outright lies- repeating them endlessly

*Corruption and graft of immense levels

*Emoluments- to the tune of billions

*Denigrating soldiers- John McCain and others

* Turning the DOJ into his own agency of retribution

 In fact, we could say that almost daily there is a violation of law, principle, ethics or decorum.  We could also assert that there are the equivalent of dozens of Watergates each day. Or say, the Iran/contra affair, as similar sleazy tactics to perpetrate a distorted agenda are carried out. Or like trying to force Ukraine's President Zelensky to dig up dirt on Joe Biden.  We are assaulted by a vast slew of transgressions each day.  Should we be happy about how our nation is faring? Absolutely not. 

The rise of fascism and the odd inversion of America perpetrating a policy of cruelty and vengeance against minorities on a scale that dwarfs Nazi Germany is as breathtaking as it is awful. The inscription held in the arm on a tablet held by the Statue of Liberty are words that have been held up as a message to the oppressed.  It is a statement of kindness and principle, a beacon of hope.   The subheading to this essay, No Irish Need Apply, is a sentiment of an earlier generation of Americans toward immigrants that showed that xenophobia and bigotry has been around for a while.

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Today, we can reflect on how these aspects of forthrightfulness and democracy and indeed policies that reflected our higher selves were shown to the world, as with the Statue of Liberty greeting the oppressed with a vision and altruism.  In the June 22 issue of the New Yorker Magazine there was an article that showed just how far, indeed, how devolved and vitiated our once national altruism has become.  That article, " Annals of Inquiry, The Dream of Reason" by Alex Ross centers on the life of Jurgen Habermas, a German philosopher who recently died at 96.   Here are two quotes that speak to the dilemma of our lost national principles:

You wake up and brace yourself for the barrage of toxic gibberish that constitutes the modern public sphere. Your email is overrun with spam, scams, and smut. There are voicemails from no one about nothing. A glance at the news reveals that the President is continuing to spew lies and obscenities; that a trillionaire is peddling white-supremacist propaganda on a social-media platform he owns; that a chart-topping musical artist is praising Hitler, or apologizing for praising Hitler, or praising Hitler once again. Publications from the Times on down employ clickbait headlines that treat you like a starving rat in a Pavlovian experiment. A.I. systems simulate the experience of talking to an arrogant ten-year-old boy who knows far less than he thinks he does. When pressed, the chatbots admit that they cannot “naturally understand human morality, dignity, culture, or meaning.” It all adds up to a continuous discursive tinnitus—a buzz of random, fake, stupid, sinister chatter that nobody wants and nobody can stop.

And Ross succinctly continues:

But Habermas died in March, at the age of ninety-six, and, although he remained active until his final months, commenting on Ukraine, Gaza, and Eurobonds, he struggled to understand the turn history had taken. As a teen-ager in 1945, he had witnessed American soldiers enter his home town of Gummersbach, near Cologne, carrying messages of freedom and openness. Eight decades later, he watched American voters choose a leader who had advertised his fascistic bent in blood-and-soil rhetoric, fantasies of punitive violence, and a taste for bombastic architectural kitsch.

Indeed, we have witnessed truly astounding occurrences when America is now aligned with other world bullies through the misguided alliances of the DT, as with Putin and others.  

There are signs of hope, however.  The recent outrage of Republican senators at the DT's bailout of the capitol cop-beaters showed some verve and principle, finally. The Supreme Court occasionally puts some governance in its checks and balances- but mostly we are left aghast at how docile and ineffectual it is.  

The episodes this past year of ICE agents acting as perpetrators of violence against law-abiding Americans is perhaps the nadir- hopefully the bottom from which will extract ourselves.  These horrible acts by masked men in unmarked cars wielding hatred and violence against Americans exercising their constitutional rights was beyond the pale.  The knee-jerk lies and rationalizations by the V.P., J.D. Vance were abominations on top of tragedies. 

In effect, we've come to see our nation in a state worse than Germany with the SS guards and Brownshirts beating and bullying minorities.  At least the SS guards were unmasked.

What makes these transgressions more vile is the anemic criticism and supportive interpretation they receive in the right wing press.  My hometown newspaper leads the fray (or follows the fray) often when the editorials concern national politics.  This type of response was in the January 22, 2026 issue of the Rocket-Courier, which had the editorial siding with ICE agents as they were the butt of anger from protestors in Minneapolis.  These misplaced values and the dubious allegiance is nothing short of astounding.  We've seen ICE agents shoot a mother in the face or fire into the back of another protester.  These murders by government thugs are worse than the killings of innocents and Kent State, yet now we have a perverse press and sycophantic politicians that offer up rationalizations and twisted logic. To add to the tragedies, there has been minimal accountablity- even stonewalling and obfuscation to protect these anonymous agents of evil.

Above- a paintng by the author of several years ago that still has relevance today. This painting is based on the 1568 canvas of Pieter Bruegel's "Blind Leading the Blind" - it is titled "The Parable of the Slippery Slope." It has in the mid-distance on the right a red-tied fellow with yellow coif pushed from behind by a KKK member into an abyss.

I yearn for the principles and clear-eyed ideals of our constitution or the patriotism of so many of my American forefathers.  I've recently read a book on this topic.  It is, "First Principles- What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country."  This book by Thomas E. Ricks is a compendium of democratic visions and the history and connection between the colonials and the ancients.  As our forefathers found models of integrity and courage in Cicero, Cato and Virgil and others it is encouraging and cautionary to reflect on those ancients.  There are cautionary tales, like Cesar crossing the Rubicon to attack his own country- hence the no-kings relevance. It is also the pertinant aspect of turning guns on American cititzens as with ICE agents, national guard that threats of using US Troops against Americans.  And there are depraved dictators like Nero, or Heliogabalus that strike resemblances to the golden- decadence we see in the White House today- even vile combat sports on the lawn of the White House.  We thought we were beyond the cruelty of bloodsport and human depravity of the Roman coliseum.   Such are the ever-deepening bottoms of the 47th.

Above- A nocturne by the author- portraying a summer night gathering outside of an ice cream shop in Stonington, ME. This slice-of-life view of "Americana" portrays the small town virtues of community, with the American flag on display. This 18" x 20" oil on linen, titled, "Mint Chip Nocturen, Stonington, ME."

The Pursuit of Virtue

At the heart of the ethos and everyday life of colonial Americans according to Thomas Ricks was how virtue was inseperable from everyday life. We think of the ancient Roman orator Cincinnatus who gave up power to return to the farm. He became the archetype of the selfless citizen who put country above self-aggrandizement or power mongering. According to Ricks:

This word was powerfully meaningful during the 18th century. Today it is a mere synonym for morality ... it runs like a bright thread through the entire period of the Revolution and the first six decades of the new nation.

Compare the pursuit of virtue with the coportment, polices and demeanor of the DT- he reeks of truculence and vileness. In fact, we would say he is devoid of anything remotely akin to virtue- a black hole of negativity spewing forth insults and offenses at every opportunity. We could rightly say he is vice personified- a vicious enitity - the polar opposite of virtue.

Personally, I would like to see a much more profound inclusion and incorporation of the enlightenment thinking of the 18th century and, hence, more of the ancients' wisdom - instead of strident rhetoric, division, polarization, partisanship and bombast.  Ancient Rome was not exempt and we see the principles of democracy repeatedly thwarted and undermined in antics of the ancient Roman forum. 

Still I will end with a quote from George Washington gleaned from Thomas Rick's book mentioned above:

"We have probably had too good an opinion of human nature in forming our confederation...We must take human nature as we find it. Perfection falls not to the share of mere mortals. " 

Later he would write of this period that-

  "It was for a long time doubtful whether we were to survive as an independent Republic, or decline from our federal dignity into insignificant & wretched fragments of Empire."