250 Years of U.S. Independence – 250 Years of Inspiration

Two hundred and fifty years of the independence of the United States of America is not merely a jubilee marking two hundred and fifty years of statehood, but also two and a half centuries of inspiration and faith that a nation can take its destiny into its own hands and build its future in accordance with its own convictions.

The United States brought the idea of meritocracy to the world and opened the possibility that even those born into the deepest poverty could, through work and perseverance, reach the highest achievements, regardless of their origin, skin color, or place of birth. It inspired millions of people to cross oceans in search of freedom and the opportunity to build a better life.

In addition to meritocracy, another key idea was freedom. Freedom is the foundation of the American state and the guiding star of its functioning. Nowhere in history did similar conditions come together for such a rich and vast land to become a ground for building and developing such a broad spectrum of different ideas, created by people who were not discriminated against on the basis of ethnicity, religion, origin, or the language they spoke. It is no coincidence that many Serbs in the United States also feel like equal citizens, because they recognize and live that same aspiration toward freedom.

Although the United States has the longest constitutional and state continuity in the world, this does not mean that the past two hundred and fifty years followed a single pattern. On the contrary, the transformative character of this country is precisely what enabled it to find its place in every world order and to emerge from every war and crisis not “only” preserved, but also improved and strengthened in line with all the challenges brought by different eras. The only, yet most important, thing that remains the same as in the fateful year of 1776 is its absolute and unwavering commitment to the ideals on which the country was founded.

The ideas of freedom also guided Serbian insurgents and heroes through the struggles for liberation during the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, with the aim of creating a modern Serbian state. In a similar way, thousands of people from various regions arrived in the territory of the then Principality of Serbia with the intention of building a new state based on the idea of freedom. It is precisely these values of freedom and the aspiration for independence from foreign rule that represent the most natural bond between our two peoples. When the people in America recognized that they had reached the maximum level of development and that British jurisdiction was hindering further progress, they took up arms and paid dearly in blood for freedom, which later made the United States the most powerful country in the world. The Serbian people recognized a similar pattern and paid no lesser price. Serbia became a free country and finally gained the opportunity to draw closer to Europe and the West, the region to which it belongs geographically and civilizationally.

Today, we have a new opportunity to further strengthen and institutionalize this civilizational connection through stronger relations between our countries. We look forward to the beginning of the strategic dialogue and believe that the shared future of our peoples holds exceptional potential, while the past should not constrain us, but encourage us. As painful as the wounds of the 1990s may be, the even more terrible hardships of the First and Second World Wars were overcome precisely with sincere and firm support from Washington, and it is through genuine partnership with the United States that we can overcome all challenges and fulfill all the potential that the future holds.

It is the responsibility of our generation to turn that potential into reality. We owe this to our illustrious ancestors, who fought side by side in two world wars, but also to our descendants, to the generations yet to come, whom we must not restrain with the same excuses and defeatism that have held us back. The foundations of the relationship between our two countries were laid long ago by great figures such as Michael Pupin, and it is up to us to do everything in our power to ensure that the shared flame of freedom continues to burn.