America at 250: Democracy’s greatest experiment?

Talk to Al JazeeraChris Hedges reflects on 250 years of US independence – the nation’s ideals, contradictions, and what it has become.

As the United States marks 250 years of independence, author and journalist Chris Hedges reflects on the promise of the American experiment, its greatest achievements, and its deepest contradictions. From the ideals of the Declaration of Independence to slavery, civil rights, war, and democracy, he examines whether the nation has lived up to its founding principles and what its future may hold.

Published On 5 Jul 2026