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Tuccille: Most Americans think the best is behind themFor it's 250th birthday, the country turns pessimisticLast updated 1 day ago You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.An American flag flies from a tour boat off the shore of the Port of Long Beach on May 8, 2026 near Long Beach, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)It’s a major anniversary year for the U.S., which marks 250 years as an independent nation. But many Americans aren’t in the mood to celebrate. Most think the quarter-millennium of existence enjoyed by the country was the best time we’re likely to see, and that the future is bound to be grim. Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorIn recent polling, reports Pew Research’s Blen Wondimu, “59% of Americans say the country’s best years are behind us, while 40% say its best years are ahead.” Forty-four per cent report feeling very or somewhat pessimistic about what the U.S. will be like in 50 years, as opposed to 28 per cent who feel optimistic and 27 per cent who just aren’t sure. As with everything that divides Americans, these days, responses break along the lines of political partisanship. Out of power, 64 per cent of Democrats and survey respondents who lean toward that party say the country’s best years are in the past; only 34 per cent say they lie ahead. But even dominant Republicans can only summon mixed sentiments; 53 per cent say the country’s best years are behind us, while 46 per cent say they’re in the future. This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThat’s an awful lot of wet-blanketry for the citizens of a republic that has survived through 25 decades and drawn on one governing constitution throughout that period. The U.S. system of government has proven remarkably stable when compared to peer liberal democracies in continental Europe. But Americans in 2026 aren’t unique in their taste for doomcasting. In 2018, policy analyst Marian Tupy and co-author Paul Meany noted for the Foundation for Economic Education that, by contrast to modern belief in progress, in classical times, “the Greeks believed that there was no way to escape from gloom.” They added, “(f)or the Roman historians, the contemporary period formed a part of an eternal spiral of moral decline that contrasted starkly with the glorious age of their virtuous ancestors.” Modern Americans may be channeling their classical-era forebears. Of course, there are reasons to be concerned about the state of the nation. For those with a taste for 20th century science fiction, we seem to be living through what author Robert Heinlein described in his imagined future history as the “Crazy Years.” In his fictional timeline, America went through a period of growing chaos during which the population embraced extreme movements, abandoned rationality, and people turned against each other. The result was a degeneration into dictatorship. That sounds more than a little ominous when Americans across the political spectrum accuse each other, with considerable justification, of embracing authoritarianism and of trying to suppress dissent. We are, too, increasingly at each other’s throats. On the left, presumed Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner was exposed as sporting a Nazi Totenkopf tattoo while also describing himself as a “communist” and promoting political violence. Given the details, the specifics of his ideology are a bit elusive, though they are certainly totalitarian and repulsive. Platner currently leads in polling against incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins. Platner is hardly alone among Democrats in embracing our crazy years, as Maureen Galindo, the leading candidate in the runoff for her party’s nomination for U.S. House Texas District 35, demonstrates. Last weekend, Galindo vowed to “turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking” and said, “It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists.” The rhetoric of such candidates exemplifies what the Network Contagion Research Institute described in April as “a pattern of moral inversion in contemporary political ideology.” The report found political activists “who expressed greater agreement with anti-Israel ideology more strongly endorsed Soviet and Nazi propaganda” and “had more left-wing (‘progressive’) authoritarian attitudes.” The right has its own growing problem with antisemitism, embodied by political commentator Nick Fuentes who finds an audience primarily among young men on the far right. More typical of right-wing craziness, though, is Vice-President JD Vance, who describes himself as a “postliberal.” In his case, that has led him to call to “seize the assets” of wealthy non-profit organizations that support policies he opposes. He and his co-ideologists reject free markets and advocate government guidance of the economy to achieve a “common good” as determined by politicians. “Where Catholic conservatives of the past have seen big government as a problem rather than a solution, the postliberals want a muscular government — one that they control,” PBS noted in a 2024 profile of the then vice-presidential candidate’s beliefs. Unsurprisingly, at a time when both major parties are drifting into illiberal (or postliberal) rejections of limited government, tolerance, and freedom, Americans increasingly take literally the combative rhetoric of political disputes. Recent weeks have seen a hate-motivated murder at a mosque, yet another attempt on President Donald Trump’s life, and the ongoing trials of defendants accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk and UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. “Reported incidents of political violence increased, including multiple high-profile assassinations,” Princeton University’s Bridging Divides Initiative reported at the end of 2025. “(T)argeted violence grew by more than 30% from 2024 to 2025.” Americans have reason to be concerned. But we’ve seen division and political strife before. We tried settling political disagreements with violence in the 1960s, the 1920s and, of course, the Civil War. We bounced back and learned, mostly, to live a while longer with each other’s differences. Even as Americans fret, we get richer faster than our peers in other liberal democracies courtesy of relative economic freedom. In 2008, U.S. per capita income was US$48,750 compared to US$37,169 in the E.U. It was US$84,534 for the U.S. in the latest measure, compared to US$43,305 in the E.U. That’s the key to getting past this pessimistic moment. If we can regain our historic taste for freedom and our willingness to put up with one another and reject grievances in favour of shared striving for the good life, the future can be at least as positive as the past. That may seem a lot to ask of Americans who have sunk into pessimism and mutual loathing. But we’ve done it before and can do it again. National Post Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.