As our community, our state and our country stand at the starting gate to 2026, the 250th anniversary of the founding of this great nation, myriad opportunities abound.

There are opportunities for deep reflection on the bedrock documents and principles that gave rise to the ongoing “great American experiment.”

There are opportunities to support and join in joyous patriotic celebrations at a cornucopia of inspiring local, state and national semiquincentennial observances and special events.

And, perhaps most importantly, there is a plethora of opportunities to forge a renewed spirit of American unity grounded on a foundation of shared values during what sadly in recent years has become a nation deeply wounded by unprecedented ideological divisiveness and political polarization.

To be sure, unity can be found by looking back at our common bonds and shared heritage embedded eloquently in such historic documents as our Declaration of Independence signed 250 years ago this July 4 and in our Constitution ratified 12 years later.

Together, they embody the nation’s founding ideals of liberty, self-government, inherent human rights and serve as a barometer to reflect on how America has lived up to those ideals — or has fallen short of them — over 250 years. They also can promote dialogue about the country’s past, present, and future. Collectively, they can inspire all to work determinedly to preserve and strengthen a robust and united national identity.

They also provide a perfect platform for remembering that “We the People” continue to serve as a model for representative democracy worldwide.

Celebrating those all-American ideals will play out in observances from small communities like Braceville Township to the mammoth crowds on the national mall in Washington, D.C. Braceville, like many other Mahoning Valley communities, will feature monthly historical programs on topics such as pioneer history, the Underground Railroad, local schools, and churches. In D.C., the Great American State Fair on Independence Day and the days leading up to it will showcase expansive exhibits from all 50 states amid an expanded Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Ohio’s festivities, under the banner of the America 250-Ohio Commission formed by Gov. Mike DeWine three years ago, will spotlight the Buckeye State’s contributions to our national identity through events and partnerships with organizations such as the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Ohio History Connection and local communities.

America 250-Ohio centers around monthly themes, beginning with January’s “Ohio’s Firsts and Originals.” Those include the state’s enduring reputation as “The Mother of U.S. Presidents” who include Ulysses S, Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding and the Valley’s own WIlliam McKinley. The statewide celebration will conclude in December with events centered around “Future Ohio: Projecting Ohio in 2076,” the nation’s tricentennial year.

Closer to home, organizations led by the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, the Trumbull County Historical Society, the Butler Institute of American Art, public libraries and many others have a jam-packed itinerary of celebratory festivities that will shout out American pride.

Among a small fraction of those observances are:

● Ohio Goes to the Movies, which will present free screenings of major motion pictures with ties to the state and the Valley, such as “The Deer Hunter,” “A Beautiful Mind” and “Little Giants” featuring Youngstown native and “Modern Family” star Ed O’Neill at venues ranging from the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor to Regal Boulevard Centre in Niles to the Columbiana Arts Theatre.

● Presentations at the MVHS Tyler Center on “Ohio Firsts” led by curators in such diverse domains as aviation and art.

● Library programs in Mahoning and Trumbull counties with semiquincentennial themes. The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, for example, plans history-themed events ranging from history bingo, cookbook workshops and special presentations on highlights of the Valley’s past.

To all of the cynics out there, and we recognize full well there are many of them, such events may sound excessively pollyannish. After all, many of them would credibly argue that the rancor, discord and strife so prevalent today in American politics and culture are far too baked in to cool down with any well-intentioned set of red, white and blue galas and jubilees.

But one not need wear rose-colored glasses to recognize that a deeply splintered America is not a uniquely 21st century phenomenon. To be sure, conflict and struggle have been as American as apple pie throughout our history. Consider the conflicts between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson in George Washington’s Cabinet, the nation-ripping American Civil War or the antagonism and disunity of the Vietnam War era as evidence that struggle and division have long been woven into the fabric of American history.

But throughout those and other divisive times, this nation survived and come out stronger, as we’re confident it will do this time. Let us resolve then to unite this year in a spirit of resilience, shared history and common ideals to move this nation closer to that “more perfect union” its Founding Fathers envisioned some 25 decades ago.