Americans fortunate enough to have today as the start of a long weekend sigh with relief at their brief freedom from work, of which they have more than citizens of any other major developed country. Then they might mull the day’s meaning. They might think, for instance, of how much independence we have lost to foreign fuel suppliers.

As for patriotism: It’s a fine quality, assuming that that it includes skepticism along with love of country (which is an enlarged love of family). This includes citizens’ independence to question their governments frequently and freely, and understand that no nation is divine. In America, a reverence for independence means more than just for independent nationhood — there are plenty of that species around.