Every time I see another poll claiming Americans are becoming less patriotic, I have to wonder if they accidentally surveyed the entire Jezebel newsroom.
Then I read Jezebel’s latest piece about the Great American State Fair leading up to America’s 250th birthday.
The article pokes fun at weather delays, a Ferris wheel that temporarily shut down, melted ice cream, and a misspelled sign. Fair enough. Outdoor festivals have technical problems. Summer events get rained on. Equipment breaks. Ice cream melts. None of that struck me as particularly remarkable.
But it was their subheading that really caught my attention.
Unfortunately, we’re only on Day 6 of the 16-day celebration—and we have about five days of more bullshit before the official America 250 celebration commences on Saturday.
That one sentence tells you far more than the rest of the article ever could.
The celebration itself had become the punchline.
It Wasn’t the Attendance That Caught My Eye
Maybe the fair has been packed. Maybe attendance has been disappointing. I honestly don’t know because I wasn’t there, and neither possibility would change my point.
The interesting part isn’t how many people showed up.
The interesting part is how eager some people seem to be for America’s 250th birthday to fall flat.
Unfortunately, we’re only on Day 6 of the 16-day celebration—and we have about five days of more bullshit before the official America 250 celebration commences on Saturday https://t.co/b5SKxuqZdo
— Jezebel (@Jezebel) June 29, 2026
The Subheading Says the Quiet Part Out Loud
Maybe this is what I find so odd.
We used to be able to celebrate America without turning it into a therapy session. Somewhere along the way, patriotism became something that has to be prefaced with an apology. Every flag comes with a disclaimer. Every fireworks show requires a lecture.
Since when did celebrating your own country become controversial? Nobody expects France to apologize before Bastille Day. Nobody tells Ireland to be less enthusiastic about St. Patrick’s Day. Yet every Fourth of July, and now America’s 250th, seems to bring out people who can’t simply let the rest of us enjoy our country’s birthday.
Every year around the Fourth of July, the same people remind us how awful America is. At some point, you have to wonder: if living here is that miserable, why are you still here?
When Patriotism Needs a Disclaimer
Reading the Jezebel piece, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the real frustration wasn’t the weather, the Ferris wheel, or even the attendance. It was that millions of Americans are about to do something the magazine simply can’t understand.
They’re going to fly a flag, grill a hamburger, watch some fireworks, and celebrate the country they call home. Apparently, that’s five more days of “bullshit.”
Jezebel is just going to have to live with it.
Featured Image: AI-generated illustration.
