July 4, etc.

First off, it's RR's (Random Rant's) 1st anniversary. I said I'd post something every Sunday. Well...maybe not always on Sunday. But I have put up something every week. Thanks to all for reading. I truly do appreciate it.
Now, re our nation's anniversary. I'm mostly positive about it, although I have mixed feelings. To begin with, I'm not into fireworks. For some reason, people have trouble understanding this. I don't like Free Bird, I've never been a big Star Wars guy and I can't walk into WalMart without getting irritable or depressed. Maybe I'm not American.
But can someone tell me what's so great about fireworks? It's people setting off dangerous stuff that's very loud. You know exactly what will happen. It scares dogs too. Yeah, I get that it's supposed to be a celebration of our independence.
Maybe that's what I dislike the most. Ask any fireworks freak about what happened in 1776 and they'll probably say, "1776? Was that when the 76ers won the NBA championship?" Some family on our block sets off firecrackers (not fireworks...no colors) at random times during the week. It's not celebratory. It's just obnoxious.
How many people really "get" what our country is all about? I don't claim to either. But I do try to focus on what I love about America. And there are many things. I love our music, our exuberance, our soul, our humor, our compassion. I love that we're the most generous nation on earth. I love that so many people choose to defend our country too, although we don't treat them the way we should.
Like a person, I love that we're not perfect and that there are many more people who, in a quiet way, try to make our country better. They're doctors, cops, firefighters, teachers, and most of all, parents. And this group far outweighs those who try to hurt us or even Americans who complain incessantly about America.
Here's another thing I love, and this was abundantly clear to me when my girlfriend and I went up to Tanglewood in the Berkshire Mountains. I saw diversity. Lots of it. A Dominican Republic family enjoying themselves while we were having a picnic by the Housatonic River. The guy with some heavy Eastern European accent delivering soft drinks to the convenience store we stopped at. The 2 Pakistani owners of the motel we stayed at. The groups of people from all over the world who attended the concert (Jackson Browne, by the way) as well as those who stopped at lovely Bash-Bish Falls at the tri-state (CT, MA, NY) border as we were heading home. 
I find myself subjected to articles every day about foreigners who are anti-American, in some cases going to violent extremes. Yet, the foreigners I meet seem nothing like that. They take some getting used to, for me. There are customs, dress, accents, and personalities that don't always make sense to me. But I believe this is identical to how people reacted when my family arrived from Austria and the Ukraine 100 or so years ago. As would be true for other families, other generations, other times and places across America. I don't have to do a Vulcan mind-meld with people newly arrived. I don't even have to be best friends with them. But I'd do well to understand their struggle a bit. That they're in a new country, trying to provide for their families, and probably feeling intimidated. And if they're Islamic, having to deal with self-proclaimed patriotic Americans who feel their Christianity is under siege.
I can't think of any other country that can tell this kind of story. People settled Australia, for example, and even subjugated the native people like we did. As is true for Canada too, and much of Latin America. But none of these other countries have had immigration on the level that we do. And no one has had a record of success like we do.
This is serious stuff, I realize. And that's not what July 4th is about. It IS a day to celebrate. We can be more serious on our  more pensive American holidays, like Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Even Labor Day.
So hand me a hot dog and a beer (Gluten free. No, on 2nd thought, don't give me a gluten-free beer until you can invent one that doesn't taste like cardboard). Crank up the Sousa and the Skynyrd (But not Free Bird. I'll take "They Call Me The Breeze", which features the best rock piano solo in history. RIP Billy Powell). Take me out to the ballgame and drape the bleachers in red, white, and blue. And celebrate who we are.