Jeb Bladine: Changed America shares McMinnville birthday

Happy Birthday, America. My, how you’ve changed!

I remember when you were a youthful 200 years old. Who could forget your 1976 McMinnville birthday party: huge parade with downtown streets packed 5-6 deep; hundreds of people at the community picnic/speech/concert; a fireworks display that drew more than 20,000 to the McMinnville airport and produced the ultimate local traffic jam.

We were in recovery from Vietnam, Watergate, inflation and political distrust. But somehow, people all across America donned their party hats with shared convictions that a flawed and battered country was ready for rehab — and worth the commitment and hard work that would require.

McMinnville’s 1976 celebration was simultaneously patriotic, social and cultural. En masse, we stepped into those public spaces and together marked that milestone birthday.

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Jeb Bladine is president and publisher of the News-Register.

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For this year’s semiquincentennial — America’s 250th birthday — celebration plans in McMinnville are much more muted. Smaller nearby communities will have full Fourth of July activities, while Mac’s “Saturday in the Park” features live music, games and food/beverage availability at the county fairgrounds.

These are different times, to be sure.

Across America, there are fewer large volunteer machines that combine forces as easily as in 1976. People are busier, more fragmented, and more mindful of celebration costs and time commitments. But of course, there are deeper reasons why 2026 birthday party time seems so different.

Many millions of Americans feel less than celebratory about America’s current directions and moral standing. Political extremes, left and right, have produced gaps so gaping that people avoid opportunities for verbal exchanges they fear will morph into confrontations.

Everything is more politicized. For many, celebrating America in 2026 is tantamount to celebrating the current national leadership. For others, refusing that celebration is akin to refusing the country. Patriotism itself has become a contested field in our political wars.

McMinnville, however, has a respectable reason to celebrate differently in 2026 — its own 150th birthday party scheduled for Oct. 17. McMinnville isn’t civic-dead but instead has chosen to focus on the birthday that feels safer and more emotionally accessible. The city’s attention this year will be to the rich local stories of founders, inspiration, maturation, the people who made things happen and those looking toward more community evolution.

Still, let’s not turn our sesquicentennial into a convenient escape from the nation’s semiquincentennial celebration. Better that it becomes a doorway into new methods of thinking about the country that provided a backdrop for all that McMinnville has become.

Who was included, who was excluded, what was built, what was lost, and what obligations remain?

The reality is, it’s easier to celebrate old photos, Third Street, city parks, historic buildings, and social and cultural traditions than to celebrate America during a polarizing political climate.

Local pride is less politically dangerous in 2016 than national patriotism. But in quiet times of the upcoming Fourth of July weekend, we can remember the nation’s past and its promises, and contemplate ways to help mold a more moderate and moral future for the United States of America.

Jeb Bladine can be reached at 503-687-1223 or jbladine@newsregister.com.