What happened in Munich left me sleepless throughout the night, as I was filled with great excitement.

Since its political independence in 1776, the United States has been considered sovereign, yet in cultural terms, it has always been perceived as inferior to Britain. Americans viewed themselves as culturally subordinate for a long time, as the prevailing intellectual and cultural frameworks were still rooted in British and European traditions. Indeed, there has been a pervasive sense of inadequacy among Americans.

Globally, there persisted the perception that Americans were uncultured, with their cultural identity largely derivative of Europe. The American people were expected to follow the cultural inclinations and definitions set by their European counterparts.

While there have been sporadic moments of American dissent, particularly in regard to the British establishment, such expressions were the exception rather than the rule. In fact, Europeans held a similar view, seeing Americans as culturally subordinate, expected them to comply with European cultural norms. This is why the events in Munich were so deeply shocking to Europeans—what has caused this radical shift?

In my view, what JD Vance articulated in Munich represented a profound cultural upheaval, a critique of European hypocrisy. It marked the first true rupture in the cultural order since 1776. In this sense, I would even argue that Vance has achieved what Washington himself could not—the United States' genuine cultural independence, or more accurately, its ideological autonomy.

Notably, this cultural independence has not been realized through legal or institutional frameworks, but rather through the agency of social movements. The dominant force within American social movements today has shifted, embracing a new conservatism centered on a return to "common sense”. In contrast, Europe has fallen behind, and Vance made this clear to the Europeans in Munich.