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Some MAGA loyalists have turned on Trump. Why the rest haven’t

Some MAGA loyalists have turned on Trump. Why the rest haven’t

America Is at an Impasse. What’s the Breakthrough?

America Is at an Impasse. What’s the Breakthrough?

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Memorial Day 2025

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Credit: The White House

Memorial Day Tribute 2025
Hugo Balta
By Hugo BaltaMay 26, 2025
Hugo Balta
Hugo Balta is a journalist, educator, and communicator. Hugo is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network, a trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network, and an adjunct professor teaching journalism courses.
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This year is significant for several military anniversaries: it marks the 250th anniversary of the United States Army, Navy, and Marine Corps; the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II; the 75th anniversary of the start of the Korean War; and the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

On Memorial Day, President Donald Trump is expected to visit Arlington National Cemetery. This location is the final resting place for over 400,000 individuals who served and lost their lives while protecting their country.

In a recent proclamation, Trump called on government officials and citizens to fly American flags at half-staff and to engage in prayers for peace.

The proclamation emphasizes Memorial Day as a day of remembrance, honoring the sacrifices made by those who served in defense of liberty. It reflects on the solemn duty to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation.

It reads in part: "We are eternally indebted to our Nation’s fallen heroes. On this solemn day, as we honor their sacrifice, the First Lady and I ask all citizens to join us in prayer that Almighty God may comfort those who mourn, grant protection to all who serve, and bring blessed peace to the world."

Hugo Balta is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network and an accredited Solutions Journalism and Complicating the Narratives trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network.


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Allies United Holds Cross‑Community Meetings to Protect Civil Rights Across Chicagoland

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Allies United Holds Cross‑Community Meetings to Protect Civil Rights Across Chicagoland

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Operation Midway Blitz outraged much of the Chicagoland community last September when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided neighborhoods, arrested thousands of individuals, and fatally shot Mexican immigrant Silverio Villegas González.

Witnessing these injustices across the country and in Chicago, two local coalitions came together last year to form Allies United, a Chicago-based coalition initially focused on responding to immigration raids, and now prioritizing protecting civil rights and building long-term cross‑community solidarity.

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A Republic at 250: What History Teaches — and What Americans Must Choose
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Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

A Republic at 250: What History Teaches — and What Americans Must Choose

As the United States approaches both a consequential election cycle and the 250th anniversary of its founding, Americans stand at a crossroads the framers anticipated but hoped we would never reach: a moment when citizens must decide whether to allow the Republic to erode or restore it through vigilance. This is not about left or right. It is about whether we still share a common vision of the country we want to be — and whether we still believe in the same Republic.

The Founders never imagined “the land of the free” as a place dependent on benevolent leaders. They built a system in which the people — not the government — were the safeguards against overreach. James Madison warned that “the accumulation of all powers…in the same hands…may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny,” a reminder that freedom depends on restraint, not trust in any single individual. George Washington pledged that the Constitution would remain “the guide which I will never abandon,” signaling that loyalty to the Republic must always outweigh loyalty to any leader. These were not ceremonial lines. They were instructions — a blueprint for preventing institutional strain, polarization, and distrust we see today.

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As trust in institutions declines, America’s 250th anniversary offers a chance to rediscover the civic lessons, leadership principles, and democratic values that sustain a republic.

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America at 250: Will We Learn from Our Past?

We call it the American Experiment. Yet too often we celebrate it without studying it, invoke it without interrogating it, and inherit it without improving it. A republic designed to learn from experience cannot afford to ignore its own lessons from history.

As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the country faces a deeper question than how to celebrate its founding. Do we still know how to learn from it?

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Person holding a sign in front of the U.S. capitol that reads, "We The People."

The nation has reached a divide in the road—a moment when Americans must decide whether to accept a slow weakening of the Republic or insist on the principles that have held it together for more than two centuries

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A Republic Under Strain—And a Choice Ahead

Americans feel something shifting beneath their feet — quieter than crisis but unmistakably a strain. Many live with a steady sense of uncertainty, conflict, and the emotional weight of issues that seem impossible to escape. They feel unheard, unsafe, or unsure whether the Republic they trust is fading. Friends, relatives, and former colleagues say they’ve tried to look away just to cope, hoping the turmoil will pass. And they ask the same thing: if the framers made the people the primary control on government, how will they help set the Republic back on a steadier path?

Understanding the strain Americans are experiencing is essential, but so is recognizing the choice we still have. Madison’s warning offers the answer the framers left us: when trust erodes and power concentrates, the Constitution turns back to the people—not as a slogan, but as a structural reality.

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