America the Beautiful: A Recipe for Civic Joy

Days ago, America marked the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It marks a moment when—a year into what was understood as a British civil war—the colonists imagined a new way of being in civil relationship and asserted that new way as “self-evident.” It would take eleven more years before the nation would be constituted, with the recognition that the United States—and its democracy—would be a continual effort to create a “more perfect union.”

This milestone has come at a time when we face deep, toxic polarization; an administration advancing a national narrative that excludes so many of us; and an increasingly alarming rise of authoritarian policies and practices. We who believe in the ideals of the Declaration of Independence (with full recognition of the conditions that have hampered their realization) have a different aspiration for who WE can be together.

We can use the occasion to invite our communities to imagine together a future of civic joy and belonging. Even as communities across the country are focused on meeting attacks and crises, we need the space to nurture our aspirations together, to seed the future we are building through our actions today. Our history shows us that artists have fueled America’s most important social movements. We must build on that rich tradition to once again unite art, culture, and movement-building to sustain our democracy. We can dare to be creative, to build a joyful future while reflecting on the pain and struggles that we’ve come from.

This was the inspiration for Future Currents, For Freedoms, artist and cultural strategist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and leadership and advocacy expert Darlene Nipper to create the AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL Framework and Recipe Box.

Six American Questions

The framework asks you to dream with us in public, using Six American Questions:

• What is the American dream?
• What is the American promise?
• When in your American life have you felt most free?
• Who are this country’s founding mothers? What would this country be if it were founded by women?
• If money were light, how much would the US have to spend?
• For whom America, the beautiful?

These Six American Questions ask us to imagine a future of civic joy, belonging, and shared growth. Through them, we seek to generate conversation and reflection around the country’s 250th birthday and beyond.

The name—AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL—is a provocation as well as an invitation. But, sharing a country and a democracy is about people working to make decisions together—struggling, succeeding, failing, grieving, celebrating—so that we all can thrive. This means we have the ability to shape the 250 years ahead, but only if we create the spaces for our communities to dream together in public, to articulate our aspirations for our country’s future, and to imagine what it will take for us to build those futures.

Authoritarians scapegoat, dehumanize, and target with state violence specific communities; create exclusionary narratives of who “we” are, who belongs, and who deserves protection vs. violence. These exclusionary definitions of “us” become more exclusionary over time—seducing some to believe they’re “in” while demanding they conform and obey or else risk losing their own place within “us.”

In the face of this threat, it is critical to organize, protect one another from harm, and build power. We are already seeing bold collective action in the face of crisis across the country. It is also critical to build experiences of a broader “we” that are wide-ranging, salient, and strong enough to withstand challenge; to build norms that go against state violence and discrimination; and to nurture spaces for creative collective action where we can envision better futures.

This anniversary date may be over, but as a collective, pro-democracy leaders and organizations can extend the conversation to Constitution Day on September 17; to Election Day on November 3; to the swearing in of a new Congress on January 3, 2027; and beyond to the Census in 2030 and the 250th anniversary of the Constitution in 2037. The stakes for renewing the commitment to imagine, engage, and build the democracy we deserve are higher than ever in our lifetime.

How to use the Six American Questions

The AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL Recipe Box is an offering to the field. It’s a series of easily adaptable how-tos for organizing, service, culture, and education organizations to host fun, creative, engaging community activities that aim to spark patriotic inquiry, civic joy, and a shared and community-grounded aspiration for a United States that can power our ongoing work to stop authoritarian advances. This recipe box is meant to help make action easier—it gives organizations and communities a starting point (and complete directions, supplementary tools and templates, and a communications toolkit) to stand up a light-lift or slightly heavier-lift activation. We brought it together because we know so many of you are already at (or over) capacity with your core work organizing and acting in the face of crises. We also plan to update the Recipe Box with post-250th content as we move forward.

Folks have contributed some brilliant recipes: A singing circle from Casper ter Kuile, author of “The Power of Ritual”; a DIY flag-making activity (paired with a hilarious music video) from comedian Kristina Wong; and lesson plans for kids from grades K-2; 3-5; and 6-8 from poet Mayda Del Valle. Others have begun the conversation by sharing their reflections on some of the Six American Questions on social media.

Authoritarianism thrives on isolation, division, fear, conformity, a monopoly on patriotism, and (false) utopian visions of the past and the future. We have a chance now to leverage a moment of gravity to engage meaningfully and challenge these very dynamics: 

• To counteract isolation, division, and fear with community, belonging, and joy.
• To counteract conformity with collective imagination.
• To challenge a monopoly on patriotism with a spirit of patriotic inquiry and affirmative vision for the future.
• To challenge hostile visions of a flawed “utopian” past by wrestling with our shared history and healing. 
• To challenge exclusionary visions of a future hostile to so many of us with creative visions of a future United States where everyone belongs, every voice is valued, and unity is built across differences. 

We are asking you all to do the work of helping your communities create a sense of civic joy grounded in a moment where the country feels divided against itself and no one feels safe.

The AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL Recipe Box is meant to offer a starting point. We know you are already organizing, convening, bringing communities together, and acting in the face of crises. You don’t have to do something new—you can also use the recipe box as inspiration:

• Are you preparing for a mobilization? Use the Sign & Dine recipe to create posters and signs that bring the Six American Questions into the mobilization you’re working on.
• Is there an event or activity in your community already on the calendar? Perhaps you could set up a table with information or a modified version of an activity like asking folks to share ideas of what they would include in a playlist that answers any of the Six American Questions. 
• Do you have a membership meeting or a member education class? You could use part of the time to host an abbreviated version of the Cook In.

The recipe box can enhance your existing work by connecting it to a broader moment not only of crisis but of reflection and opportunity.