Dearborn — With fireworks, carousel rides and a performance by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Greenfield Village held a grand party for a grand nation Thursday night.
Not as grand was the mood.
Attendees of the annual Independence Day celebration worried about the direction the country was heading. They said the U.S. is divided, with one half believing the other half is evil.
During a milestone anniversary that commemorated 250 years of being together, Michiganians were talking about just the opposite.
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“Everything seems so divided. If you don’t agree about something, you’re automatically the enemy,” said Barbara Moran of Bloomfield Hills.
Parts of U.S. history were spread throughout the 180 acres outside the museum, from a working farm to the Alabama house where Martin Luther King Jr. stayed during the voting rights marches in 1965.
The song of America was heard in the ragtime, Motown, classical, blues and jazz played by performers.
Even as history was all about them, however, visitors couldn’t agree about what it meant, or whether it was good or bad.
Cindi Garland of Plymouth Township said America’s past, itself, is under attack.
She accused the far left of trying to rewrite history books to diminish the contributions of Whites. She’s a Republican who supports President Donald Trump.
“We should be proud of our country,” she said. “You can find something bad about anybody if you look hard enough.”
In decades past, the Fourth of July involved people coming together for a fireworks show, with the political pyrotechnics left at home. They found common ground in celebrating the country.
The nation’s semiquincentennial isn’t occurring during such a decade.
Ticket holders dressed gaily for the museum festivities Thursday, wearing old-time garb or combinations of red, white and blue, including a man whose one piece resembled the American flag.
Despite the happy trappings, their views made it sound like a sourness runs through the soul of the citizenry. People don’t like each other, they said. People ridicule anyone who disagrees with them.
Political scientists believe the last time the country was this divided was the Civil War.
Anita Carter, a retired school cafeteria worker from Roseville, said the United States needs to be united.
“I like living in America. We’re free,” the 72-year-old said.
Some people were loath to even discuss the perilous state of political relations. It’s a minefield where one wrong remark could set off an explosion, said a man who declined to give his name.
It all made for a strange birthday party, one where the guests weren’t quite sure how they thought about the birthday boy.
Willie Hoffman of Franklin said she didn’t feel the same giddiness that past Independence Days have brought. Not even the landmark anniversary or her “America 250” T-shirt changed that.
She said a lot of the news coverage about the the anniversary has centered on politics, giving the event a harsh sheen.
“You don’t hear anything good. It’s people putting each other down,” she said.
Like all fireworks shows connected to July 4th, the one that culminated the museum event Thursday symbolized the fighting involved in the founding of the U.S.
The more patriotic ones in attendance undoubtedly took heart in that, celebrating what they say is the greatest country on earth.
One said his visit to the nostalgic museum was an antidote to the poisonous politics of today. How could one watch a child riding a carousel from 1913 without smiling?
Ken Thompson of Southfield found a secluded spot away from the crowds at the museum campus. The shady knoll overlooked a stream with geese on it.
Despite the tranquil setting, he saw little to commemorate during the event.
He said democracy is under assault every day by Trump.
“We have a king who’s making himself rich at our expense,” he said. “It’s good for him, I guess.”
Thompson, a Democrat who supported Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, also scored the president for his handling of the anniversary, saying Trump has made it more about him than the country.
Outside of the museum party, other Michiganians said the country needs to stop fighting and focus on its most pressing issues.
For Mandy Kaur, a gas station owner from Washington Township, one such issue is health care. She’s doing OK, but others are struggling and need some help, she said.
“Like my in-laws — we should have a better program for them,” said the 38-year-old. “I’m OK with it, but for older people.”
fdonnelly@detroitnews.com
(313) 223-4186
@ prima_donnelly
Staff Writer Max Bryan contributed to this report
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