July 4th, or U.S. Independence Day, has always been a celebration of the birth of the United States of America. In my 50 years as an American citizen, I have always perceived "July 4th/Independence Day" as a celebration of the day that the American colonists freed themselves from the British yoke and made the country into a great nation, and not a celebration of the presiding administration.
Coincidentally, I was in London on June 23, 2016, the day that Great Britain voted to become independent from the European Union. But that day was not a celebration. It was, instead, a defeat for both Great Britain and the E.U.
Another coincidence is that my first American passport had the design "1776-1976" on the background of its pages. The design commemorated the 200th anniversary of U.S. independence.
On July 4, 1976, I recorded a Long Island, New York Independence Day parade that was organized by a local chapter of The American Legion (which was described by the Long Island, newspaper Newsday as the best parade since the American Revolution). The video, which is now preserved in the Mastic-Moriches-Shirley Community Library, was part of my television program, Made in Italy, broadcast weekly on Suffolk Cablevision of Viacom (now Paramount) and publicized on the radio programs that I hosted on WSUF AM, WLIX AM and WBAB AM and FM.
A third element that attracts me to the celebration of July 4th has to do with the hospitality and opportunities that America has offered me and other Italians over the years, fostering and developing talents at all levels: artistic, economic, scientific, academic, and social. Talents that have then enriched both the U.S. and Italy. In my case, America allowed me, after only a few years of living here, to create VideoAge, one of the leading trade magazines specializing in both Hollywood and global TV business, which over time has promoted Italian and American audiovisual productions and entertainment talents all over the world. This would have been an impossible undertaking in a small town like my hometown of Giulianova in the Abruzzo region of Italy.
Over the years, America has gone through dramatic periods under multiple presidencies, but the celebration of the 4th of July has always remained a celebration of the independence of the United States and never of the America presided over by whichever president is in power at the time.
Historically, American administrations have alternated between friendly and antagonistic attitudes towards foreign countries, including neighboring ones such as Canada and Mexico. But these attitudes have not stopped the U.S. from attracting immigrants and expatriates of all social and cultural levels, and of all political beliefs from all over the world, as my weekly column in the Italian newspaper Il Centro can attest.
The commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the creation of the longest-lasting democracy in the world should be celebrated in this spirit and not be rejected due to an aversion to a situation that is and has been traditionally temporary.
It is in the spirit of what America has historically represented that for years I have tried to bring the celebration of the 4th of July to Abruzzo, a region with a large number of emigrants and expatriates to the U.S. (including myself and my relatives). The project succeeded in July 2025, becoming the first and only commemoration of Independence Day held in the Abruzzo region at Giulianova. The intention is now to succeed in renewing it in 2026 for the 250th anniversary.
