America the Beautiful? I have a fistful of postcards to attest to her beauty. Words are inadequate.

America the Dynamic? This nation has been driven by the spirit of re-invention since the 1600s, when it was just a twinkle in the eye of a bunch of non-conformists and opportunists. From golf on the Moon to the Material Girl, America has never been afraid to say “Why not?”

America the Last Hope? Descended from the huddled masses longing to breathe free -- free from Famine, in my case -- I see a panorama of culture and tradition that has grown to include, at least in theory and sometimes in practice, little pieces of the whole planet. We try, and sometimes we fail, but we try again.

But my favorite, America the Loud, the Raucous, the Argumentative. America, where everyone may have a say. America, where we are requested, if we would keep America, to speak up, at least once a year at the ballot box, and preferably to speak more often than that. America, based on the notion that there’s nothing so dangerous it can’t be talked about.