Philadelphia’s collar counties, such as Bucks County, have become pivotal in American politics due to their competitive nature and shifting voter preferences. Bucks County, in particular, is known for its closely contested elections. In the 2024 presidential election, the county cast over 400,000 votes, with Donald Trump narrowly winning by fewer than 300 votes. This tight political landscape has made Bucks County a focal point for understanding broader national trends. The Bucks County school board saw a major shift in 2021, when a Republican majority took control and enacted policies such as removing books from school libraries and banning pride flags and other symbols of support from classrooms. This political change set the stage for the docuseries Bucks County, USA, directed by Barry Levinson and Robert May. The series centers on the friendship between two high school girls, Evi Casey and Vanessa Martino, whose parents hold starkly different political views. The show was scheduled for a screening at Bucks County Community College, but it was canceled last week due to unspecified safety concerns. Vanessa’s father, Paul Martino, a venture capitalist, contributed $500,000 to support far-right candidates in the 2021 school board elections, significantly influencing the political direction of the county. The series explores how pandemic-related school closures and the role of schools in shaping children’s lives contributed to the radicalization of some parents. It features intense social media exchanges and audio collages filled with harsh language. Critics argue that the show equates different forms of extremism—such as calling someone a bigot or a transphobe—as if they were simply unkind remarks, which some find misleading. The docuseries includes interviews with individuals like Donte King, a Black father who shares the pain of his daughter repeating a racist joke, and Lily Freeman, a trans high school senior who recounts the abuse she has faced. Paul Martino and his wife, Aarati, moved to Doylestown to escape the values of San Francisco but carried with them a philosophy of disrupting systems. Despite his involvement in shaping the educational environment, Paul is rarely seen with his children, and family interactions are often awkward. The series highlights the power imbalances and rhetorical divides between different political groups, as noted by Kitty Semisch, a retired teacher who points out the financial disparities that affect influence in the community. The show ends on a note of strained hope, emphasizing the difficulties of coexisting in a deeply divided society. The final episode, which mirrors the Sundance premiere, leaves the impression that the series has reopened old wounds rather than offering a path to healing. Some critics argue that the show’s message that everyone should "calm down" fails to recognize that some issues are indeed worth intense and passionate debate.