July 2026

By Jen Wilkins, ETB Communications Specialist

As the United States marks 250 years of democracy, the Expanding the Bench® (ETB) Team paused to consider what this milestone means in 2026.

The ETB Team brings a wide range of lived experiences, cultural backgrounds, and perspectives on the United States, democracy, and the systems that shape both. With that in mind, we approached the 250-year anniversary not as a simple celebration, but as an invitation to reflect more deeply on what democracy has meant, what it has failed to fulfill, and what it still asks of us.

Through a “250-Year Time Capsule” activity, we asked:

What would we want people 50 years from now to know about how we understood democracy, community, and responsibility at this moment?

Our responses reflected the complexity of this time. They named uncertainty, fragility, hope, responsibility, and the ongoing work of building a democracy that lives up to its promises. The items chosen for the time capsule told a story of what our team is carrying forward:

• Banned books, including To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, and Animal Farm. These books represent memory, critical thinking, truth-telling, and the freedom to wrestle with difficult ideas. They remind us that access to knowledge is central to democratic life.
• A pen and blank notebook, offered as “a reminder that your creative and deep thoughts are essential in the digital age of AI and information.” In a time of rapid technological change, this simple object points to the enduring value of human reflection, imagination, and voice.
• Seeds to plant a garden “in case any have been forgotten or lost.” Seeds offer a symbol of hope and future flourishing. They remind us that democracy must be tended. It requires care, patience, protection, and the belief that renewal is possible, even when the ground feels uncertain.
• News headlines, newspaper front pages, court rulings, and public statements documenting concerns over democratic institutions. These items preserve evidence of what people were navigating in 2026: uncertainty, institutional strain, and the reminder that democracy cannot be taken for granted.
• A “FRAGILE” sticker, the kind placed on packages, as a striking symbol of the moment. Democracy, like something marked fragile, requires careful handling. It can be damaged, but it can also be protected.
• A survival-type cookbook, offering another powerful image. It suggests adaptation, preparation, and shared responsibility. In this context, the cookbook reminds us that democracy is sustained not only through institutions, but also through everyday acts of care, resourcefulness, and mutual support.

Across the responses, several words emerged that our team would want remembered: resilience, persistence, tenacity, community, and courage. Together, these words capture a clear-eyed understanding of the present and a refusal to give in to despair.

As Nancy Vang noted, “We are navigating a lot of uncertainty, which isn’t new, and continuing to find ways to stay grounded while moving forward.”

That grounding was paired with hope. We named democracy as fragile and unfinished, while still holding onto the possibility that it can be rebuilt into something more equitable, participatory, and truly created “of, by, and for the people.” We also pointed to the enduring power of people to organize, activate, and push forward when systems fail to uphold what communities know to be right.

The reflection also returned to the founding language of “We the People,” not as a completed promise, but as an ongoing responsibility. The ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness remain meaningful because people continue to struggle, organize, and care enough to make them real.

If someone were to open this time capsule 50 years from now, they would find a team wrestling honestly with the complexity of this moment. They would find concern and critique, but also hope and imagination. They would find reminders that democracy depends on what we protect: books, ideas, institutions, creativity, truth, community, and the possibility of renewal.

Most of all, they would find a message for the future:
Do not lose hope. Keep showing up. Keep planting what may still flourish.