July 4, our "great feast"

A few days ago, my best friend from high school was reminding me of the time we went to Rome over the 4th of July. We were trudging around Piazza di Spagna in the heat & stopped in a corner coffee bar for yet another cold drink. Naturally I ordered in Italian but upon hearing us speaking to each other in our native language, the clerk asked me in English. "Today is your great feast?"

"Oh yes, the 4th of July, Independence Day," we answered. To which he said, "So why are you not speaking in English?"

I was taken aback a bit and wondered if he was joking, but he seemed to be serious. I explained that although it was indeed our "great feast", we were not at home and being guests in his country, it was only common courtesy to speak his language. All he did was shrug in that inimitable Italian way & handed us our drinks, so I wasn't sure if that satisfied his curiosity. In any event, it was one of those things that reminds me that traveling abroad not only makes you learn about another culture, but perhaps even more so causes you to appreciate your own. I had never been away from my own country on our most important national holiday and in all honesty, I wasn't thinking about it much until that fellow brought it up. In that respect, I was indebted to him, whether he was joking or not, for reminding me of something that I shouldn't have taken for granted.

Even in our homeland these days, it often seems unfashionable to be openly grateful for the fact that we are Americans and celebrate that every July 4. Yet our patriotism is something that foreigners automatically associate with us. Italians in particular have always remarked upon this to me while quickly adding that they are not very patriotic, at least not in the same sense that we are. An Italian identifies himself with his city or town first and perhaps his province, and even though his country has been unified for almost 150 years, often he still regards some of his countrymen as akin to foreigners. Therefore it must be puzzling to them and yet the ones I know that have spent time here have said that they can understand why Americans feel the way they do. Perhaps we should take a minute to do the same.