Celebrate your Independence Day with Americana

Dear Readers: Today is Independence Day in the United States. Although there is no hard historical evidence, we generally credit Betsy Ross with sewing the first American flag with the stars-and-stripes design. (Her real name was Elizabeth Griscom Ross.) However, a professional Baltimore flagmaker, Mary Young Pickersgill, sewed the large flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 and inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner." Her flag now hangs in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Here's more Americana. One of our readers sent us this list, written by Mark Rosenfelder. You can check out the full list, and additional lists about other countries, at his Web site, www.zompist.com:
If You're American
UYou believe deep down in the First Amendment.
UYou know how baseball, basketball and American football are played. On the other hand (and unless you're under 20), you don't care that much for soccer.
UYou count yourself fortunate if you get three weeks of vacation a year.
UYou think of McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, etc., as cheap food.
UYou probably own a telephone and a TV. Your place is heated in the winter and has its own bathroom. You do your laundry in a machine.
UYou don't kill your own food.
UA bathroom may not have a bathtub in it, but it certainly has a toilet.
UYou expect, as a matter of course, that the phones will work. Getting a new phone is routine.
UYou'd respect someone who speaks French, German or Japanese, but you very likely don't yourself speak them well enough to communicate.
UYou think a tax level of 30 percent is scandalously high.
UA hotel room has a private bath.
UYou seriously expect to be able to transact business or deal with the government without paying bribes.
UYou count on excellent medical treatment. You know you're not going to die of cholera or other Third World diseases. You think dying at 65 would be a tragedy.
UYou're used to a wide variety of choices for almost anything you buy.
UYou still measure things in feet, pounds and gallons.
UYou stop at red lights even if nobody's around.
UYou don't care very much what family someone comes from.
UYou think of opera and ballet as rather elite entertainments.
UYou'd be hard-pressed to name the capitals or the leaders of all the nations of Europe.
UYou've left a message at the beep.
UIf you have an appointment, you'll mutter an excuse if you're five minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's 10 minutes. An hour late is almost inexcusable.
UIf you're talking to someone, you get uncomfortable if they approach closer than about 2 feet.
UYou take a strong court system for granted, even if you don't use it. You know that if you went into business and had problems with a customer, partner or supplier, you could take them to court.
UYou think most problems could be solved if only people would put aside their prejudices and work together.
Creators Syndicate
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