I've got to say, I'm completely fascinated by Dave's perspective on things. It is like listening to someone speaking Martian.

It is so foreign, so alien, and so odd that I don't know where to even begin. I mean, "false flag FBI agents". What's more believable, applying Occam's razor: "false flag FBI agents", or "angry rioters who were being told that the election was rigged"?

And the remarkable thing is the unwavering belief. Donald Trump could indeed shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and it would be an Antifa / leftist / Communist plot.

Also, Teddy Roosevelt didn't stage animal fights on the White House lawn. He and his son Kermit were too busy shooting them in Africa. I like mixed martial arts but staging a fight at the White House and charging tens of thousands of dollars a ticket is tacky and ill-spirited.

Here's what I think about your country's 250th birthday, for what it is worth. "A republic, if you can keep it," said Franklin. 250 years with some really low times in American history demonstrates how resilient the Founders' system of checks and balances was.

I tend to side with George Clooney. There are a lot of left-wing naysayers who think the country is on the edge of collapse, but I think the fundamental system is robust. Right now you have a deeply polarising President who controls both legislative houses and has stacked the Supreme Court with appointees... yet the system holds. Clooney didn't say this, but I will: When FDR introduced socialism into the country via the New Deal, dragged the US into a European war, and refused to follow tradition and step down after two terms, the system held. Warren Harding was corrupt as fuck, and the system held. The Civil War happened, and despite all European powers (apart from Tsarist Russia) backing the Confederates, the system held.

You live in a country with remarkably solid institutions. They provide stability and underpin the rule of law. That's a whole heap better than most countries.

I think there is at least a broad understanding that slavery left generational trauma. I think the fact that a black man can be President means that you've come a long way as a people to trying to fix that.

I've met a lot of Americans, and they have almost always been very friendly and optimistic people. I know there are many Americas within the United States and I have been to more than a few of them, but for the most part, the common threads across the country have been warmth and patriotism. I have some minor issues with American patriotism which I don't need to go into here, but I certainly respect it. I completely respect the warmth and geniality of Americans. Americans are a nice people. Canadians are nicer, but Americans are sunnier. Some broad generalisations in there, but I think correct ones.

Americans complain and hate each other over the internet but you've got much more in common with each other than your differences.

So, happy birthday. I hope your country lasts another 250 years. I don't have much doubt about that, in all honesty.