It seems Americans spend an awful lot of time whining about who is or is not a true American. Depending on your point of view, those who support the Prez or those who don't support the Prez aren't good Americans. Immigrants (legal or otherwise) are either heroes chasing the American dream or thieves coming to take American jobs. Pick an issue, and good Americans will disagree on how proper Americans ought to act. And it's not just we, the people, who foster this divide. Both houses of Congress have established committees devoted to investigating "unamerican activities," but it has never established a committee on "American activities."

Some folks think America is splintering like never before. Certainly, when folks in my neck of the woods get shot at simply for having a bumper sticker endorsing the wrong candidate (in the view of the shooter), we've got work to do. But in truth, Americans have always been a fractious bunch. The miracle of this country is that more often than not, we still manage to get together and celebrate our common bond.

And what is that? After all, two hundred and twenty-nine years ago, a bunch of rich white guys got together and decided they didn't want to follow the rules set down by another set of rich white guys. High-falutin' language aside, that's the story of the Declaration of Independence and Independence Day in general. Not exactly the sort of story to hang your hat on, when you look at it from that perspective.

I'm not one of those folks who has built an altar to the "Founding Fathers." I do happen to think that George Washington was perhaps the most important American who ever lived, both for his role in the revolution and the precedent he set by stepping down as president. If Washington had decided he wanted to stay president, all he had to do was say so. The people loved him, and rightly so. But instead, he allowed another man to take his place at the head of government. In three years, such a transition will happen again, and once again I will marvel. Even in this supposed age of democracy, such an orderly transfer of power is still a rarity.

In truth, I'm never prouder of my country than in times of crisis. The election of 2000 would have destroyed most so-called democracies. That Americans went about their business and acted without fear of chaos during the month the election results were contested is telling. The simple fact is that we knew that our country could survive such a divisive moment. We were right.

I guess that's America for you. Despite our disparate beliefs, the myriad of ways we live our lives, in the end we're all Americans. We believe that our country can take whatever we give it, that the concept of America is strong enough to handle just about any crisis. Sure, some might question that belief, preferring to believe we've become a lazy and apathetic nation. But I see that critique as two sides of the same coin. If we, the people, weren't comfortable with our conception of America--even subconsciously--we wouldn't be apathetic. We'd be scared, and if even a sizable minority of people in this country began to truly fear for America's future, things would get freaky. They certainly wouldn't stay calm.

Who are we? We're Americans. And defining us further is pointless. America is what each of us makes of it. And it doesn't matter that every single American has a different view on the subject. We don't have to agree on anything other than being American and recognizing our fellow Americans as the same. Our forefathers believed America would be great because its people had the freedom to express their ideas without fear of government retribution. They were right. And our diversity--be it racial, cultural, religious or whatever--is still what makes us strong.

So kick back and drink a toast to America. We may not agree on much, but Americans still agree that it's great to be Americans. And that's good enough for me.

Jon Worley plans to toast his forefathers with British bitter and German weissbier.