July 2, 2026
As the country marks its 250th birthday this week, the headlines are mostly about how divided we are. So, we did something simple. We talked to actual Americans, in communities across the country, and asked them what this place means to them.
What we heard, again and again, is that we have more in common than the headlines suggest.
The people we talked to aren’t pundits, politicians, or the loudest voices in the national argument. They’re the people who quietly hold their communities together. A former legislator who ran an ice cream shop on the Maine coast. The descendant of an Irish immigrant who took a train to Kansas City and started a small business now run by his daughter. A lawmaker in Idaho who turned losing his father into a life of service. Each one is rooted in a place, a livelihood, or a tradition that shaped how they live and what they believe. We’re gathering their stories into a growing network we call The 250.
The thread connecting them isn’t politics or party. It’s pride. Pride in their country, their state, their town, or in a set of values they’ve built their lives around.
We agree on more than we think
When you hear enough of these stories, a pattern starts to emerge, and the numbers bear it out. LSG fielded a nationwide survey of 2,000 likely voters in late spring 2026. The findings were striking. Across both parties, Americans share a remarkably common idea of what it means to be one:
- 97% say believing in freedom and individual rights is important to being American
- 96% say treating everyone equally, regardless of background, is important
- 96% say working hard and being self-reliant is important
- 96% say voting in elections is important
- 95% say respecting the U.S. Constitution and American institutions is important
Family ranks as the single most important priority for a good life (73%), and small businesses are the most trusted institutions in the country (81%), ahead of the military and law enforcement
None of this means Americans agree on everything. The same survey found real and meaningful divides over the country’s direction and its future. But it’s worth sitting with what these numbers actually show: the values underneath are widely, almost universally, held. The disagreements are loud. The common ground is large, yet quieter.
In their own words
The data tells us what people value. The 250 shows us what it looks like up close.
“You don’t have to agree with someone to respect them. Democracy depends on our ability to hear voices different from our own.” — Chris Rector, Maine
“Celebrating America’s story means telling the whole of it, the victories, the hardships, and the lessons we’re still learning.” — Tori Towns, Illinois
“People show up for each other here. There’s a shared understanding that we take care of one another, and that is something truly special.” — Shauna Hegna, Alaska
They’re from different states. They have different backgrounds. They are living different lives. The same idea keeps surfacing, unprompted: that this country is something you participate in, not something you watch from a distance.
What The 250 is
The 250 is a growing network of 250 American storytellers, built by LSG over two decades of working in communities across the country. The name points to where we’re headed: storytellers from every state, in the spirit of the nation’s 250th year. It’s grounded in a simple observation that has guided our firm from the beginning: every town in America has a story worth telling, and the most honest portrait of the country usually isn’t the one on the front page.
Every day at LSG, our team talks to Americans from all walks of life: across all 50 states, every congressional district, every state capital, and small towns all over this country. We know the communities that all of us call home — from the most densely populated neighborhoods in New York City to some of the most remote and vast landscapes in Alaska. We’ve met people all along the way who inspire us, who are proud of what they’re doing, proud of where they live. The 250 is a way we’re celebrating some of those stories as we celebrate our Independence Day this year.
This week feels like the right moment to start sharing it.
Explore the full network, meet the storytellers, and see the complete survey results at https://teamlsg.com/the250/.