• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, Yesterday

Here is what I would like to see on TV in the lead-up to July Fourth: A multipart, documentary series about the total awesomeness of the United States of America.

It is not that some of the content that has come my way recently is bad. For example, on Wednesday (June 24), Netflix premieres “The American Experiment,” a five-part history lesson about American democracy -- its origins, its challenges, its meaning, etc.

The docuseries comes from Tom Hanks and his producing partner Gary Goetzman. It is a sumptuous production.

It tells its story well, applies testimony by diverse commentators from the worlds of politics and academia, uses famous actors to voice various historical figures, and it is beautifully photographed.

It is not a criticism to point out that “The American Experiment” takes its approach and style from the work of Ken Burns, who premiered his own multipart documentary, “The American Revolution,” last year.

At the outset of telling its story, “The American Experiment” signals its intention, which is to ultimately frame the history of American documentary in the present day.

The very first image in the show is a protester holding an American flag upside down. The image launches an introductory interlude before we get to the main event, in which some of the show’s interview subjects bemoan the state of America today.

“I think the American experiment is whether a democracy is sustainable, that respects basic human rights,” says one concerned commentator accompanied by video of Donald Trump speaking at a convention alongside video of protests staged in recent years.

“We’re living in a moment of profound transition that we haven’t fully understood,” opines another. “This is actually a time when the original debates among the framers are more relevant than they have ever been in my lifetime.”

This commentator must be young indeed, because the history of the United States has been underpinned by countless “profound transitions,” with most of them before he was born, apparently. 

“The American Experiment” means well, but like so many of these earnest history lessons that are piling up in advance of the 250th birthday of America, it leaves out a very important characteristic of America and Americans that can be boiled down to one word: Fun.

“Americans love to fight,” declared General Patton in a famous speech. And that they do. But they also like to have fun. 

While having fun and fighting would seem to be in opposition to each other, they add up to the same thing -- a high-spirited citizenry exercising their Constitutional rights to both of them, as long as they don’t bother anyone else.

In these made-for-TV ruminations on the meaning of America, the joys of living here are given short shrift or ignored altogether. 

Instead, TV depicts America as a land of endless strife and “threats to our democracy” -- a worn-out phrase if there ever was one.

By contrast, many Americans live their lives joyfully. They’re busy watching football, browsing the bargains at Walmart, hanging out with friends in backyards and bars, taking up some target practice at their local ranges, riding Ferris wheels and rollercoasters, and enjoying car races and demolition derbies on summer weekends.

Message to TV: No matter what you show us, America is still a land of opportunity, community and good times. May it be sustained forever.

Above photo courtesy of Netflix from “The American Experiment.”