While much of the country marked America’s 250th birthday with parades, fireworks, and celebrations, a group of Hollywood actors and public figures used Independence Day to deliver a different message—one warning against what they described as the dangers of authoritarianism.
The project, released on July 4, featured actors Sarah Jessica Parker, Mark Ruffalo, Molly Ringwald, Bradley Whitford, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lisa Rinna, Tony Goldwyn, Leslie Odom Jr., Canadian author Margaret Atwood, and several others reading excerpts from historian Timothy Snyder’s 2017 book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.
The nearly ten-minute video was published on Snyder’s Substack as President Donald Trump presided over the Freedom 250 celebration in Washington, D.C., where he addressed tens of thousands gathered on the National Mall during the nation’s semiquincentennial festivities.
According to reports, participants viewed the project as a call to remain vigilant against tyranny and political complacency.
Opening the video, Parker reflected on the nation’s founding.
“Two hundred fifty years ago, a revolutionary idea was born—not that freedom was guaranteed, not that democracy would take care of itself, but that ordinary people could govern themselves,” she said.
She continued by asking viewers what role they intend to play during their own generation.
“For me” is all you need to know https://t.co/BXH9XUr3Kk
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 24, 2024
“Every generation since has faced the same question: What will you do when our country asks and needs something of you?”
The readings were drawn from Snyder’s book, which examines the rise of authoritarian regimes during the twentieth century and offers practical lessons for preserving democratic institutions.
Introducing the project, Snyder framed the anniversary as an opportunity not only to celebrate America’s founding but also to consider its future.
“To celebrate a rebellion is to know that, from a flawed world, we can make new things,” he wrote.
“We can hold on, we can find each other, and not just imagine but create a much better America. It is a special 250th—it is ours.”
Throughout the video, participants alternated reading the book’s twenty principles, which encourage civic engagement, independent thought, and resistance to authoritarian tendencies.
Snyder referred to the actors and public figures participating in the project as his “friends of freedom.”
A statement accompanying the release said the video was intended to encourage Americans to “refuse complacency,” a message many observers interpreted as criticism of the Trump administration, although neither the video nor its accompanying statement explicitly named the president.
The timing nevertheless drew attention.
Only hours later, Trump addressed the nation from the National Mall, delivering an address centered on American exceptionalism, the country’s founding principles, and what he described as the enduring spirit of 1776. In his remarks, the president called the United States “the crowning achievement of human history” and argued that America’s success rests on the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
The contrasting messages illustrated two sharply different visions presented on the same national holiday.
Supporters of the Hollywood project argued that patriotic celebration includes reflecting on the nation’s democratic institutions and remaining alert to historical lessons about concentrated political power. Critics, meanwhile, questioned the decision to release such a politically charged message during a milestone celebration intended to commemorate the country’s founding.
