Writing an article praising the United States of America in the current historical and political context may seem a rather unpopular exercise.

And yet, despite all the criticism and controversy surrounding that country, if someone were to ask me today, ‘Do you like the American model?’, I would still answer without a shadow of a doubt, ‘Yes!’.

This year I decided to take a trip to one of the places that has always fascinated me the most: the United States. I chose to go there at a very special time of year, namely during the 4 July celebrations, their Independence Day.
I didn’t do this just to witness the annual celebrations, but also because this 4th of July marks a particularly important anniversary: it marks 250 years since the Founding Fathers proclaimed the independence of the thirteen American colonies from the British Empire, thereby giving birth to the United States of America, the oldest and longest-standing democratic republic in history.
On this trip, I visited the most significant sites of the American Revolution that led to that declaration.

I visited Boston Harbour, where, in 1773, a number of American patriots decided to throw the chests of tea – sent by the East India Company on the orders of the British Empire – into the sea. It was that very empire which imposed a tax on that drink on the American colonists, even though they were not represented in Parliament. Indeed, their motto was: ‘No taxation without representation’, alongside ‘Give me liberty or give me death!’.

In New York, I visited Bowling Green, where, in July 1776, a number of American rebels toppled the statue of King George III of England as a sign of rebellion.

I have seen the place where the founding documents of the United States of America – such as the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence – are now kept. In the latter, there is a sentence that I believe to be more powerful than any weapon or army that has ever existed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that amongst these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’
Thomas Jefferson,
Declaration of Independence of the United States of America,
Second Continental Congress, Philadelphia, 4 July 1776.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Finally, yesterday, 4 July, I was in Washington DC and also had the opportunity to hear a speech by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, in person. Although I am completely opposed to the ideology and policies of this administration, it was nonetheless an unforgettable experience to hear in person the man who, whatever one may say, is currently the most powerful person in the world.

Seeing all this made me realise that, in many respects, Europe still has a great deal to learn from the United States, even though in many other respects it is we Europeans who are the best. No constitution or founding document of any state in the world enshrines the right to the pursuit of happiness or the right of the population to organise themselves into self-regulating militias capable of defending themselves against any tyranny, whether internal or external.

But above all, we must always remember that all the other rights we enjoy in Europe and take for granted — such as freedom of expression, the separation of powers, the separation of church and state, and parliamentary and presidential elections — were first fully implemented in the United States. And it is precisely thanks to the United States that we Europeans can claim to have these rights today: had it not been for their intervention in the Second World War and the Cold War, Europe would be a very different place and, in my view, a far worse one.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The future of Europe is inextricably linked to the fate of the West as a whole and, consequently, closely tied to that of the United States. For this reason, Europe must commit to maintaining good political, diplomatic, trade and defence relations with Washington. However, as in any alliance, this cooperation must be based on clearly defined common conditions and rules, which must be respected by both sides.

So, when I say that I support the United States, it does not mean that I am in any way in favour of this administration’s actions or that I do not criticise many of its past and present policies. Far from it: by this statement, I mean that I support and fight for the principles on which the United States was founded and on which it should continue to be based in order to remain the world’s leading superpower.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

True American patriots, in my view, are not those who support Vladimir Putin’s regime – the very same regime that threatens to bomb Washington DC with nuclear weapons. They are not those who storm the capital simply because they refuse to accept the result of a democratic election won by their political opponent. Nor are they those who undermine the principles of tolerance and inclusion, thanks to which millions of people from all over the world have chosen to emigrate to the United States to pursue the famous American dream.

Today, however, the true American patriots are those who mark 4 July by remembering the true meaning of that holiday: namely, by celebrating the values in which the Founding Fathers – such as Jefferson, Adams and Franklin – believed, men who dedicated their entire lives to fighting monarchical absolutism. So yes, today the true American patriots are precisely those who celebrate ‘No Kings Day’ and who are fighting to ensure that America returns to being a fully liberal country, faithful to Western values.