I want a Fourth of July to contain parades of people you know, old veterans waving from cars and the school librarian dressed up as a clown. I want to see the Kiwanis on those mini-motorcycles. I want to see small children with fat, sunburned checks waving plastic American flags. I want to hear the high school marching band play everything Sousa ever wrote.

God asks for one day a week, this country only asks for one per year. I suppose, in a very roundabout way, passively participating in the debauchery that is Las Vegas does celebrate our freedom and independence. Vegas could be seen as a temple to the dollar. The things that make Vegas distinctive, however, do not endear it to me.

I escaped from the reception to watch TV in my room. I caught the end of �A Capitol Fourth� on PBS. Then I got to hear Peter Jennings, live from Mount Vernon, read something written by Thomas Payne. I heard Miss America, complete with red shiny lipstick and fake eyelashes, backed by the Boston Pops, sing God Bless America to a crowd of middle class families sitting in lawn chairs.

I wish I was there. That�s how the Fourth of July should be.