Minnesota Prairie Roots

FIFTY YEARS AGO, my friend Barb married Chuck during the bicentennial year. She themed her wedding in red, white and blue.

That same year, my dad bought a boxcar full of hay to feed his cattle during one of Minnesota’s worst droughts ever.

And in 1976, I attended Farmfest, an agricultural exhibition and bicentennial celebration near Lake Crystal in southern Minnesota.

That trio of memories defines the bicentennial for me. I wasn’t thinking about the stability of the U.S. or anything political back then. But, oh, how my thoughts have shifted in 50 years. In 2026, I find myself worried about the future of this country.

In June 2025, I attended my first protest. Since then, I’ve become a regular on the protest line in my community, publicly raising my voice every Saturday morning against the current administration. I never thought that at my age, I would be protesting. But there I am standing street-side, shoulder-to-shoulder with others as concerned as me about the leadership in America and the very real threats to our democracy. “Very” is not a word I like to use. But I can’t think of a suitable synonym.

What concerns me? Threats to voting rights. Threats to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Threats to individual liberty. Threats to the environment. Unlawful immigration enforcement. Lack of due process. Unauthorized and unnecessary war. A lack of checks and balances in a government of executive, legislative and judicial branches. Unchecked power. Unqualified individuals in federal government leadership positions. Cuts to Medicaid, education and more areas than I can possibly list. A Congress that mostly seems to lack a backbone, that caters to the president. Inflation. Tariffs. The high price of everything. The pardoning of insurrectionists. Abuse of power. Lies, lies and more lies. So much. So much.

I find all of this incredibly challenging in this semiquincentennial year when we should all be focused on celebrating. But if I pause and reflect among all the uncertainty and chaos, I recognize that I still have a voice. I am free to express myself. To write. To disagree. To hold a protest sign.

And, for now, that is something worth celebrating.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling