interdependence

Flags: USA & Bolingbrook

Memories of Independence Days from years gone by had been filled with idealism and great pride.  These days, pundits abound, deriding and demonizing all the highest officials.  It is somewhat disconcerting that people constantly look for ghosts in the closet of yesterday's heroes.  Have I become jaded?  It occurs to me that I don't wave our flag with the same enthusiasm and bliss that I used to.

While opinions collide over politics, parties and policies, this country is still my home.  Sure, television jokesters point at the foibles of the latest bigshot who stumbled, but I choose to look out the window of my library at the flag of these United States of America.  And right underneath it, we fly the flag of our town, Bolingbrook.  On Independence Day, I choose to take a break from hearing the harsh critiques and instead enjoy telling a panegyric about good times, great people, and... my home.

Americana, in my mind, is a beautifully woven interdependence of people from many cultures and backgrounds.  It is not necessarily a blend, where the former identity is entirely lost, but a rich celebration of being able to come together while retaining important components of our various roots and heritage.

Wherever you are, I hope you love your home as much as I do.

Old Western display from Longhorn Steakhouse in Bolingbrook