It’s been 250 years since the founding of the United States; 25 years since the attacks of 9/11. What has this country learned in the interim?

On July 4, we should have been celebrating the survival of our democracy. Instead, we worried about our democracy surviving Trump. He moved the official party to his 80th birthday on June 14, because, as we all know by now, everything is about him. History and tradition be damned.

After 250 years of struggle to fulfil our founders’ hopes for a country of, by, and for its people, we have moved backward from those goals. The right to vote, women’s right to control our own bodies, the right to clean air and water, our right to live in peace, and most egregiously, our right to free speech – all have been set back by decades. One thing we have learned is that in spite of the Constitution, our rights are not guaranteed. We have to fight to keep them, because the only one the Right wing cares about is the right to bear arms. Every other freedom we enjoy is a constraint on their ability to manipulate us for their own ends.

What did we learn from 9/11? George W. Bush and company twisted the world’s sympathy into initial support for two long, bloody, unrelated, and unnecessary wars. What at first seemed like a hunt for the actual terrorists turned into an American jihad against Muslims everywhere. Osama Bin Laden and his henchmen were Saudis, but the Saudi rulers and the Bush family go way back, so Saudi Arabia got a pass. Instead, we attacked poor Afghanistan, as though the Russians hadn’t done them enough damage. Then we hit Iraq, with the excuse of Weapons of Mass Destruction that did not exist.

We lost 3,000 American lives on 9/11. Our post-9/11 wars killed more than 3 million people, directly or indirectly. Iraq is recovering, but far from thriving, and depends on authoritarian state power to maintain stability. Afghanistan is ruled by the Taliban. Women there are chattel again.

Did we learn to refrain from unnecessary war? Iran shows that although most Americans might have learned this lesson, Trump has not. Did the U.S. learn that the best way to prevent terrorism is to stop being a violent bully on the world stage? Gaza shows that we still don’t get it.

The post-9/11 wars got us used to the idea of invading and ruling other countries. Encouraged by our failure to hold W accountable, Trump decided our armed forces could also occupy contested domestic territory. In a recent New Yorker article, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney described Trump’s plan after the ICE murder of Renée Good: “Occupy Minneapolis like it was Falluja.”

Americans have not learned to live with all the people who want to be here. We need immigrants to pick our crops, take care of our elders, and provide young workers to support our aging population. Yet we have allowed Trump to demonize the very people we should be welcoming. The symbol by which we are known internationally is no longer Lady Liberty. It is the armed drone rising over your village – in Iraq, or at your local ICE protest.

The upcoming midterm election gives our country a chance to show that the struggles of the past 250 years were not in vain. We can demonstrate that democracy, though badly damaged, is still operational. And peace, though undermined everywhere by Trump’s aggression, is still an achievable goal.

One side of our politics offers endless war, increasing wealth inequality, racism and xenophobia. The other side offers peace, fairness, and tolerance.

It shouldn’t be a hard choice.