Europe Can You See? How Proud You Should Learn To Be!
Going back a few months, when I attended CPAC (the Conservative Political Action Conference) in Washington, D.C., Feb. 19-22, 2025, I was struck by a powerful sight.
Everywhere I looked, the American flag waved, big and proud.
Though CPAC was indeed earlier this year. It's still quite relevant to the here and now.
For example, when the National Anthem started to play, the room sang along, chests puffed with unmatched pride.
In America, pride is something to celebrate, the strength of a nation that embraces its identity, at CPAC, and hopefully elsewhere.
Back in the Netherlands, I cycled past my old high school (yes, I bike; I'm Dutch, after all).
But outside, no Dutch flag. However, the repugnant UN’s SDG flag was hanging on the building. I felt a pang of envy for our American friends.
Why can’t we love our country like that?
Why are our kids taught to be proud of the UN’s dictatorship but not the land they grow up in? This is Europe’s crisis: we’ve forgotten who we are.
In the Netherlands, it’s even worse.
Our history of tolerance is being weaponized against us.
Through this indoctrination, we've lost our identity.
We're told we must always satisfy the "inclusivity police." Politicians keep our borders open without demanding that newcomers embrace our norms and values.
Instead, we adapt. Christmas? It’s now a "winter holiday."
Meanwhile, Ramadan is celebrated in town halls.
We're taught to be ashamed of our past. Yes, the Netherlands played a role in the slave trade, but we were also a global powerhouse.
We gave the world the stock exchange, cookies with tea, the AVG’tje — potatoes, meat, veggies – and we learn to bike as soon as we can walk.
That’s who we are!
Nonetheless, our kids are told we have no identity. Even Queen Máxima said it, "The Dutch person doesn’t exist."
From a young age, they're inculcated to feel shame about our VOC (Dutch East India Company) history and only the shame matters.
This isn't just Dutch. It's a pattern across Europe.
We owe it to our children to teach them pride in their country.
If you love your nation, you love yourself.
Pride in your history, flag, language, and culture gives you roots and structure.
You know where you come from, what your people value, and what you can carry forward. As I always say, "If you know who you are, you can stand where you need to stand."
In Europe, where nationalism is often taboo, people are adrift.
They don’t feel Dutch, nor European. The result? An empty, confusing identity.
Look at America.
There, pride in the flag, the Constitution, and your roots — no matter your color or faith — is the norm.
Those things build confidence.
If your country is great, and you're part of it, you’re worth something too.
In Europe, we’re taught the opposite:
- "Your country has colonial guilt."
- "Your history is something to be ashamed of."
- "Proud of your culture? That's dangerous."
No wonder our youth lack confidence and feel more confused. According to a global study published in Psychological Science (2011), individuals who are proud of their country also report significantly greater personal happiness.
Patriotic pride makes you happier.
In a globalized world, where everything shifts — from gender to norms — patriotism offers a moral anchor. It says, "These are our values. This is who we are."
That brings peace. People with strong national identities have a greater sense of community and are more willing to take responsibility --- think volunteering or political engagement.
However, when you’re constantly told your nation is wrong, that shame seeps into your self-image. Shame for your country becomes shame for yourself. True freedom starts when you let go of that shame.
Alexis de Tocqueville saw this in 1835, in "Democracy in America."
He admired how Americans lived their patriotism through civic engagement.
Citizens took responsibility in local communities — from building roads to setting up schools --- and felt united by shared ideals of freedom and equality.
He wrote, "In the U.S., patriotism is a practical virtue that drives citizens to act for the common good."
America's civic nationalism unites diversity under values like the Constitution. Symbols like the Stars and Stripes and rituals like the Pledge of Allegiance strengthen that bond.
Europe must adopt this.
In the Netherlands, we rarely see our flag wave with the same pride.
Our identity is diluted by the EU and UN, who seem intent on erasing our history.
De Tocqueville's focus on local autonomy is key: give the Dutch more say over their communities, like Americans have.
Bring governance back from Brussels to national parliaments.
Let our flags fly, not those of supranational powers.
We owe it to our children to follow America’s model.
A nation which forgets its story is doomed to be replaced.
And our future generation deserves better.
The people who built up our great Western nations deserve better.
We deserve better.
So …
Europe, can you see?
How proud you should be!
Scarlett Karoleva is right in the thick of things on the European continent. She is based in Holland, and has worked in Brussels for a member of the European Parliament, for a number years. Ms. Karoleva is very well-connected to the intelligentsia of freedom continent-wide.