The Idea of America

We’re a country built on becoming. That means our freedom doesn’t come with guarantees. It comes with responsibility.

Susan J. Demas photo

By Trygve Olson

Today is the Fourth of July.

And before we return to the battle — to the lessons, the tactics, the truths — I want to say something simple.

Something I don’t say enough.

I love this country.

Not as a brand. Not as a weapon. Not as a tribe.

I love it as a promise. A project. A living, breathing idea we all inherited — and are now responsible for protecting.

And I’m not just talking about flags or fireworks. I’m talking about the idea that government should serve the people, not rule them.

That power should be accountable. That truth should matter.

That we — flawed, different, loud, beautiful — should keep working together to form a more perfect union.

We Are Not a Finished Product

In The Battle for Democracy, I wrote:

“Building democracy in any society is a never-ending construction project. In established democratic societies such as the United States, the process… keeps evolving and rests on the desires, hopes and dreams of the American people.”

That’s what makes America different.

We’re not a monarchy.

We’re not a dynasty.

We’re a country built on becoming.

That means our freedom doesn’t come with guarantees. It comes with responsibility.

The Courage It Takes to Stay Free

Democracy — real democracy — takes courage.

Not just the courage to fight tyranny.

But the courage to give up power peacefully.

To lose an election and concede.

To tell the truth, even when it costs you.

To stand up for others before they stand up for you.

As I wrote years ago — and feel more deeply today:

“Democracy itself is an ongoing example of courage.”

On this Fourth of July, look around. Ask yourself who’s showing that courage now. And ask yourself who’s trying to intimidate, silence, and punish it.

Patriotism is not about politicians with flags behind podiums. It’s about each of us standing up when someone tries to break the idea of America to serve their own fear.

---

---

What We’re Fighting for

Let’s be clear:

What we are witnessing today is not patriotic.

It is authoritarian. It is vengeful. It is small.

It doesn’t believe in a more perfect union.

It believes in permanent power.

But we are still here.

And we are still the majority.

And we still share more than we’re being told.

In long-term research I’ve helped lead since 2022, we asked Americans to identify the values that define how they live their lives.

These are the top four — across parties, across identities:

• Honesty

• Responsibility

• Family

• Respect

That’s not political.

That’s foundational.

That’s the America most of us still live in — even if Washington no longer reflects it.

So here’s what I’m saying today, to all of you — wherever you sit on the spectrum:

If you believe in honesty …

If you believe in responsibility …

If you believe in family and respect …

Then you still believe in us.

And that is the fundamental idea of America.

Three Things I’ll Do this Fourth of July — and I Hope You Will ,too

1. I’m going to talk to someone who sees the world differently, and start with values.

Not a debate. A conversation. I’ll ask what they care about. What they believe is worth protecting. I won’t lead with politics — I’ll lead with shared ground, and try to build from there. That’s what democracy demands.

2. I’m going to reflect on our founders, our history, and ourselves.

I’ll take time to acknowledge the imperfections of those who built this country, the injustices woven into our past, and the unfinished work still in front of us. I’ll remember what they wrote: We the People. And I’ll recommit — today and every day — to doing what I can to build a more perfect union for my children, and theirs.

3. I’m going to say what side I’m on — clearly, and without apology.

Because silence is complicity. Because history will remember who showed up. And because the people I love deserve to know I’m still in this fight — not as a partisan, but as an American.

A Shining City — Rebuilt

Ronald Reagan once called us “a shining city on a hill.”

That line’s been twisted. Misused. Reduced to myth.

But I still believe in it.

Not as something we are.

As something we could be again.

“Our own democracy, of course, is dependent on each of us.”

That was true when I first wrote it.

It’s even truer now.

So today — before we return to the fight — I’m taking one breath.

One pause.

To remember what we’re fighting for.

We are not fighting to preserve the past.

We are fighting to fulfill the promise of America.

Happy Fourth. Let’s get back to work tomorrow.

Trygve Olson is a strategist, pro-democracy fighter and a founding Lincoln Project advisor. He writes the Searching for Hope Substack. Read the original article here.