Americans will mark Independence Day with flags, parades, and fireworks. The traditions endure, even as the democratic ideals they’re meant to celebrate appear increasingly hollow. It’s been 249 years since the United States broke away from British rule, and over the past year, it seems to have broken away from the global order it once helped shape, and from the foundational principles of reason and integrity. Within the U.S., this unraveling feels like a national crisis. From outside its borders, it resembles an unplanned, chaotic revolution. This Fourth of July, the message from the world is clear: it, too, is seeking independence - from America.

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