As part of a collaboration between The Fulcrum's NextGen initiative and Made By Us, The Fulcrum is publishing Letters to America, a series created through the Youth250 project that invites Gen Z to reflect on the nation’s past, present, and future as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary.
In small towns across the nation, in accordance with ours of Madison New Jersey, we will gather to recognize an anniversary. Though this milestone has been one of many, I ask that it not be a mere nod to the curiosities of the past, but the spark of an ongoing admiration for all that led us here.
Our founding fathers through incredible strife composed a nation they saw fit for those they would never meet, and 250 years ago took the declarative act of rolling that idea into motion. Setting in stride a sort of imperfect waltz that has bridged the generations.
From our brilliant triumphant stands to our bittersweet sacrifices to times mired in the trouble and chaos of ill decision. And amidst the growing distractions and ample conveniences of modern life, it can be difficult to recall these struggles. But as the years have mounted higher we now find ourselves the tailors and seamstresses of this great tapestry. And as we weave our portion may we do so with care to those neighbors binding us on this great timeline. And sift among their aging and rusted heirlooms with the veneration of a dutiful curator. Keeping alive those voices that reside in our countries keep.
May we remember with honesty the people who played their role in those years, whether they be doers of just or unjust actions. For the sole act of having been where we now are, they remain our most valuable counsel to navigate what may come. we cannot let ourselves be the ones who cutoff our future countrymen, from those cables of communication which we have had the privilege to hear. For we too shall have been where others will stand as time does what it will.
On this anniversary, We arrive at this 250th year not at a culmination, but as an active set of hands entrusted with holding, for a short while an idea that may never be finished yet must always be maintained.
John Cerutti, 24, Madison, NJ
Rep. Haley Stevens speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party Endorsement Convention in Detroit, Michigan on April 19, 2026. (Andrew Roth/SIPA/AP)
Cecelia Terraza, 36, and her children, Maya, 3, and Rio, 5, hold signs during a rally for Dr. Abdul El-Sayed in Lansing Center, Michigan on July 19, 2026. (Rosem Morton for The 19th)
Rep. Haley Stevens talks to women working on the line as she tours the Webasto Plymouth Plant on May 1, 2026 in Plymouth, Michigan. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images)
The crowd cheers as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Sen. Bernie Sanders raise their hands during the “People vs. the Powerful” rally at the Lansing Center in Lansing, Michigan, on July 19, 2026. (Rosem Morton for The 19th)
