The local communities hoping America’s 250th birthday will help bridge divides

[0:00] Well, this summer, many of the celebrations for America's 250th birthday will be grand [0:05] in scope, an IndyCar race around Washington, D.C., a great American state fair, and a mixed [0:12] martial arts fight on the South Lawn of the White House. [0:15] But in communities across the country, smaller celebrations are also taking place, hoping [0:20] to use some of the year's patriotic energy to engage their neighbors and transcend political [0:25] divisions that can overshadow so much of civic life today. [0:29] Judy Woodruff reports as part of her series, America at a Crossroads. [0:35] On a picture-perfect spring morning, a group of British soldiers are preparing for battle. [0:42] Nearby, a camp of patriots is doing the same, before starting a mile-long march to meet their enemy. [0:53] But instead of a trek through lightly settled wilderness, these soldiers are navigating a [1:00] modern-day New Jersey town, including traffic, narrow sidewalks, and a march past a marijuana [1:07] dispensary. [1:09] Waiting for the two sides to clash is a small crowd, here to witness a reenactment of the [1:15] Battle of Bound Brook. [1:19] Colonial soldiers trade fire with the Redcoats, near the spot where, 249 years earlier, about [1:27] 500 patriots were attacked by nearly 4,000 British Crown troops. [1:33] Like that day in April of 1777, the Americans put up a spirited fight, only to eventually [1:42] retreat from the British. [1:44] The local connection and spectacle was infectious. [1:51] We've been to a lot of these, and it's, this was definitely the noisiest of the world. [1:57] The Chen family came dressed in their own period costumes. [2:01] For all of us, being able to appreciate beyond just the pages of a book, what our history is [2:08] as a nation, and to see it come to life like this has really helped our own patriotism and [2:14] our own appreciation of our nation. [2:17] David Vala lives in Bound Brook with his family. [2:20] To have this kind of history in our city, in our town, is something to be really proud [2:25] of. [2:26] I know the outcome already, unfortunately. [2:28] I know it's an L for the patriots, but, you know, just excited to be a part of it. [2:33] Rob Schulte and his son Jack came to portray loyalist militia. [2:38] Usually we are our patriot, continental line, but today we're filling in and helping out the [2:44] Brits, and I guess for the day it's God save the king. [2:46] This reenactment is an annual event, but as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, [2:55] Schulte says celebrations like this have taken on greater importance. [3:00] There's a lot of division in our country, but if there's one thing that we all have in [3:04] common that we can all agree upon, it is the ideals of our founding, our ideas of liberty [3:09] and equality and the fact that we fought together as a nation through all of our differences [3:14] to achieve that, I think there's no better reminder than the 250th anniversary of that [3:19] for all Americans. [3:20] I thought coming into this that it would be a moment where people would just for a minute [3:26] put aside whatever their issues were with the other side of the political aisle. [3:31] It has not been that at all. [3:34] Theodore Johnson is a columnist at the Washington Post and a retired commander in the U.S. Navy. [3:40] He's also a senior advisor at New America, a center-left think tank in Washington, [3:45] where he leads the Us at 250 initiative. [3:49] We wanted this to be a moment that Americans could take intense pride in the progress of the [3:54] country. [3:55] We also wanted it to be a moment where Americans could reckon with the things the country has [3:59] gotten and is still getting wrong. [4:02] Given the national mood, Us at 250 is supporting local efforts around the themes of pride, reckoning, [4:09] and aspiration, a pivot after realizing that the 2024 election made a more national effort [4:16] feel too tied up with politics and the polarization that comes with it. [4:22] The national celebration has its place, but instead of having a trickle-down patriotism from [4:26] the sort of national celebration, this is a grassroots kind of patriotism, I think, that will bubble up, [4:32] hopefully, and change the course of the country. [4:34] My view of it is the best future of the country is in our communities and not here in D.C. [4:39] On the southwest side of Denver, we attended one of the more eccentric examples of a grassroots [4:47] civic effort. [4:53] Lucha libre wrestlers were only part of the draw for the tax day carnival. [4:58] Maybe you're proud to pay. [5:01] Maybe you're like, what in the world is going on? [5:02] What's this money? [5:03] What's happening? [5:04] Either way, it's a carnival. [5:05] Adrian Molina was an inaugural fellow with New America's Us at 250 initiative, and he's [5:13] one of the forces behind the group memorably named Warm Cookies of the Revolution. [5:19] We are a civic health club, and for us, it's all about bringing people together, people who [5:25] may not normally come together at the same place at the same time, and our vehicles for [5:31] doing that are arts, culture, and fun. [5:34] LEADING WITH FUN MEANT FACE PAINTING, CIRCUS PERFORMERS, AND FREE FOOD, AND CARNIVAL GAMES [5:43] THAT INCORPORATE IDEAS AROUND HOW SOCIETY PAYS FOR WHAT IT NEEDS. [5:48] I thought that we would be handing over our W-2s to somebody as we stood in line, and maybe [5:54] we would get a lemonade. [5:57] AMANDA DONNELLY BROUGHT HER GRANDDAWTER. [6:00] It's the first Warm Cookies event she's attended. [6:03] UNDERSTANDING THAT WE CAN COME TOGETHER, AND EVEN IF WE HAVE DIFFERENCES, ENJOY EACH OTHER'S [6:10] COMPANY AND BE TOGETHER IN COMMUNITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT. [6:14] AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT AMERICA WAS FOUNDED ON, RIGHT, SO PEOPLE WITH A SHARED VISION ENACTING IT. [6:20] W-WARM COOKIES ALSO HAS PROGRAMMING FOCUSED ON SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES, AND A PROJECT TARGETED TO RURAL [6:28] AREAS CALLED FUTURE TOWN, WHICH REIMAGINES WHAT SMALL TOWNS COULD BE. [6:34] THE CONCEPT, LIKE THE TAX DAY CARNIVAL, IS TO LEAD WITH ELEMENTS THAT WILL ENGAGE A CROSS-SECTION [6:40] OF PEOPLE. [6:41] WE'RE THINKING ABOUT CIVICS IN NEW WAYS, AND WE'RE THINKING BROADLY, AND SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU BRING A [6:47] GROUP OF DEMOCRATS TOGETHER TO HAVE A HARD CONVERSATION WITH A GROUP OF REPUBLICANS, WE KNOW HOW THAT [6:52] CONVERSATION'S GOING TO GO. WE'VE SEEN THAT PLAY OUT FOR GENERATIONS. WE'RE TRYING TO OPEN UP SPACE FOR NEW [6:58] CONNECTIONS TO BE MADE. [6:59] I DIDN'T KNOW THAT, LIKE, THE CIVIC CONVERSATION WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE CAME BECAUSE WE WERE DRAWN TO IT [7:05] WITH THE LUCHA LIBRE, WITH THE MARIACHI, WITH THE FOOD. BUT, THEN, NOW, ONCE THE COMMUNITY IS HERE, [7:10] IT'S LIKE A GOOD WAY OF ATTRACTING US. [7:12] MARIA MONCLOVA IS AN IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY WHO'S FROM THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. [7:17] RIGHT NOW, WITH EVERYTHING HAPPENING, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR OUR COMMUNITY [7:21] TO CELEBRATE WHAT THE COUNTRY WAS BASED ON, WHICH IS IMMIGRANTS, WHICH IS DIVERSITY, WHICH IS [7:27] GETTING INVOLVED. AND THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO GET TOGETHER, [7:31] ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE CELEBRATING THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY. [7:36] THIS IS THE SEMI-QUINCENTENNIAL YEAR. IT ALSO HAPPENS TO BE COLORADO'S 150TH. [7:43] IS THAT AN OPPORTUNITY, DO YOU THINK, FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY? [7:48] IT'S A BIG OPPORTUNITY. YOU KNOW, WE FEEL LIKE AS PEOPLE ARE THINKING ABOUT [7:53] THIS LONG HISTORY, AND WE'RE THINKING ABOUT IT AS A HISTORY, BUT ALSO A BEGINNING. [7:57] IT'S A BOOKMARK. WE'VE EXPERIENCED A LOT OF CHAPTERS. [8:00] THERE ARE MORE CHAPTERS AHEAD. AND WE CAN WRITE THIS NEXT 250 YEARS ANY WAY THAT WE WISH. [8:06] I'VE GOT NEARLY 80 BUTTONS. [8:08] BACK IN BOUND BROOK, JOHN DWIRE DONS A CONTINENTAL SOLDIER UNIFORM HE FIRST WORE [8:14] AS A NATIONAL PARKS EMPLOYEE IN NEW JERSEY ON THE EVE OF THE BICENTENNIAL IN THE 1970S. [8:21] WE HELD EVENTS THAT DREW OUT TENS OF THOUSANDS OF VISITORS. [8:26] THAT WAS MORE THAN A LOT OF PARKS WILL GET IN A YEAR, AND WE WERE GETTING THAT IN A WEEKEND. [8:31] BUT IT WAS THE BICENTENNIAL. EVERYBODY WAS FIRED UP FOR THE BICENTENNIAL. [8:35] THIS 250TH HAS REVIVED A LOT OF THAT KIND OF FEELING. [8:40] BUT IT'S TOUGH TO GET PEOPLE TO COME OUT TO STUFF. [8:42] I MEAN, THERE'S NOT A BAD CROWD HERE TODAY, BUT IT'S NOT THE THOUSANDS I MIGHT HAVE REMEMBERED. [8:50] AFTER PORTRAYING THE BRITISH VICTORY IN THE MORNING, THE TWO SIDES REVERSE ROLLS IN THE AFTERNOON, [8:56] MAKING THEIR WAY BACK THROUGH THIS CENTRAL NEW JERSEY TOWN, [9:00] WHILE EXCHANGING VOLLEES OF GUNFIRE. [9:02] A REMINDER OF THE FIGHT FOR OUR INDEPENDENCE, AND A HOPE FOR A MORE PEACEFUL FUTURE. [9:10] FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR, I'M JUDY WOODROPH. [9:24] SUPPORT JOURNALISM YOU TRUST. [9:26] SUPPORT PBS NEWS. [9:29] DONATE NOW, OR EVEN BETTER, START A MONTHLY CONTRIBUTION TODAY.