India, July 3 -- On July 4, 2026, the United States turns 250. Amid fireworks and fanfare, the day invites reflection on a nation shaped by bold ideals, hard-won progress, and enduring contradictions

On July 4, 2025, the United States turns 250-a semiquincentennial that marks a remarkable journey from a colonial rebellion to a global superpower. As Americans gather with fireworks, parades, and nostalgic anthems to mark the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the occasion invites not just celebration but introspection.

For this birthday is more than spectacle; it is a moment of reckoning-with ideals pursued, promises broken, and the uncertain road ahead. At its birth, America dared to proclaim that "all men are created e...