I love watching the Olympics with my mother. Whenever the mighty USA crushes another opponent in bobsledding or rifle toss or whatever, she sobs during the medal ceremony, a patriotic rush of pride. It's not obnoxious. It's not jingoistic. She's proud. It's old-school. I like that. Believe me: She's a Kennedy liberal, and is sick about the current powers that be. But my mother is also very patriotic. She loves her country, as bullyish and awful as it might behave. So rest assured, sometime tomorrow, between the Maryland crab feast and the fireworks, she'll shed a few red, white and blue tears on this Fourth of July. You can count on it.

I wish I could be patriotic like that. When I watch the Olympics, I root for Jamaica. I take our success, and our strength, for granted. But gazing at my iPod, I see some American pride on there. I do. I see it. In some strange and subtle ways. So as we BBQ and raise hell on this Fourth of July, here are some patriotic songs nestled on my iPod. Feel free to share your own favorites (or acerbic political statements):

Lindsey Buckingham -- Dancing Across the U.S.A.
Arthur Fiedler -- Stars and Stripes, Fifth Campaign: Finale: The Stars and Stripes Forever
Night Ranger -- (You Can Still) Rock in America
John Mellencamp -- Justice and Independence '85
Shooter Jennings -- 4th of July
Randy Newman -- Ragtime
2 Live Crew -- Banned in the USA
Leonard Bernstein/New York Philharmonic -- Rodeo: IV -- Hoe-Down
Neil Diamond -- America
Rufus Wainwright -- Going to a Town
Chris Isaak -- American Boy
Simon and Garfunkel -- America
Chuck Berry -- Route 66