Happy Birthday, Uncle Sam

TigerBlog is a huge fan of old movies, black and white ones with wholesome plots and themes and characters who were clearly "good" and "bad." Or, better yet, movies with characters who were "good" and "good."

One of TB's favorites is "Yankee Doodle Dandy," the 1942 musical about the life of George M. Cohan, the singer/dancer/writer/actor/vaudevillian who specialized in making Broadway hits, especially ones with a patriotic theme.

The movie starred James Cagney, who won an Academy Award for the performance. It did not win Best Picture, which went that year to Mrs. Miniver, another of TB's favorites, though vastly different than "Yankee Doodle Dandy."

Obviously, the big scene in "Yankee Doodle Dandy" is the title song, but the movie also has other classics, like "Give My Regards to Broadway," "Over There," "You're A Grand Old Flag" and "Mary."

If you're looking for some low-stress, old-fashioned, fun entertainment, this is about as good a choice as you can make.

TB always assumed that Cohan was born on the Fourth of July, but, at least according to Wikipedia, he was actually born on July 3.

Your average movie producer of today wouldn't go for a movie like "Yankee Doodle Dandy," not with its hokey story and prehistoric special effects. Still, it touches all the right patriotic heartstrings, and it still resonates today as a work of great Americana.

Yesterday was the Fourth of July, a time of fireworks and picnics and such. For most, because it was a Sunday, it means a day off today.

What gets lost, probably, is the fact that the day itself represents the day 234 years ago that the 13 colonies formally announced that they were "and ought to be free and independent states" and in doing so created the United States of America.

That same miraculous document, the Declaration of Independence (it's the one that starts "When in the course of human events;" the one that starts "We the people" is the Constitution), includes this language that everyone has heard a million times and somewhat takes for granted - or even attempts to mock or refute - and yet laid down such a simple foundation that has meant so much to so many over the last few centuries:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

From that beginning, America has grown into unquestionably the greatest country this planet has ever seen. For every one person who wants to leave the U.S., there are, what 10 million, 100 million who want to come here?

Princeton University actually predated the United States of America by 30 years, and the University itself played an active role in the Revolutionary War and in the political formation of the new nation.

As an aside, there are nine colleges that still exist to today that were chartered before the Declaration of Independence. That group consists of the current Ivy League schools minus Cornell and Rutgers and William and Mary.

Formal intercollegiate athletics at Princeton came 88 years after the country started, but even in the time of colonization, it was thought of as the responsibility of the elite class that attended college to excel in physical competition as well.

Every text TB has ever read about the College of New Jersey in the 1700s talks about games and ball-playing and an emphasis on proving one's strength and participation in sporting contests.

Now, in modern times, we use a term called "All-America" to describe the very best college athletes (and even high school ones).

This past year, Princeton Athletics produced more than 30 All-Americas.

Not All-Americans. All-Americas. There's a difference.

An "All-America" is someone who earns that honor in a sport. An "All-American" is someone who represents all of the positive ideals that are associated with being an athlete and a person. Bill Bradley, for instance, was a three-time "All-America" but was also "the All-American boy."

At Princeton, we're lucky to be filled with more All-Americans than we are All-Americas. In many ways, the athletes who come to Princeton - and many other colleges - represent the very best in what America has to offer. They are young; they are competitive; they are smart; they are physically fit. The put forth their best effort to help themselves and their teams, and they often go on to accomplish great things after they graduate.

TigerBlog was already feeling pretty patriotic last night when he stood on a crowded beach, off by himself near the water's edge. When he looked to the north, he could see the fireworks from Ocean City and Atlantic City. When he looked to the south, he could see the fireworks of Wildwood and Cape May.

From somewhere down the beach, in the total darkness, a chant began. Eventually, it started to sweep over the whole audience.

"USA, USA, USA," they chanted.

It made TB smile. The United States of America. TB is lucky he was born there.

Happy birthday, America.