Happy Birthday, America!

Today is the day we, as Americans, celebrate our nation's Declaration of Independence from the British Empire. It's also a time for columnists to wax philosophical, or poetic, about patriotism. The subject certainly is ripe, given this election cycle's extra emphasis on it.

I'm not going to do that, because I think that patriotism is not usefully studied, professed, or criticized. It is something that I think is at its best when tested, and when celebrated.

The conscience of our nation is contained in the preamble to that Declaration, and it is the final arbiter to any such test.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

The tides may rise and fall, the winds may shift, the ground may shake beneath your feet, but that beautiful idea does not shake, will not bend, will not ever fall. I will leave it to the individual American to look himself or herself in the eye and decide whether they meet that bar, or fall short. Today, as with every Independence Day, I prefer to celebrate the beating heart of our nation.

Here are some of my favorite love songs to America. What are yours?



Here's a quick Independence Day story. Several years ago, my in-laws were visiting from England. Let me tell you, there is nothing more fun than having English people around for 4th of July.

Of course, they were always good sports about the ribbing, and even joined in on the festivities. On this particular Fourth, we all went to a fireworks display, and on the way back, had our traditional loud-sing-along-in-vaudevillian-megaphone-style of patriotic songs. We had to drive very slowly, through thick crowds of pedestrians on their way to their cars.

Now, English people are very adverse to embarrassment, yet sadly prone to it. Their entire popular culture is based on it. So I, being the considerate American host, surreptitiously rolled the car window down during a particularly raucous rendition of "Grand Old Flag."

Yeah, you really did have to be there.