What it means to be an American.

I hope you all had a Happy St. Patrick's Day. I know I did.

The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem and Sweaters.

While many of the faux Irish celebrant's were sleeping of their day-after parade hangovers, my wife and I got to enjoy the streets of Manhattan at our leisure. We studied some reference material at the New York Public Library before heading to lower Manhattan, where we enjoyed a St. Patrick's Day brunch at the Penny Farthing on 3rd Avenue and 12th Street. On our way home, we picked up some St. Joseph's Day cakes in Little Italy. Since my Mother is half-Irish and half-Italian, I have been able to enjoy the best of both worlds since birth.

I enjoy being who I am. But it's not just me.  Certainly, St. Patrick's day belongs to everyone. I had to let my wife know that she was Irish too, given how she looks so classy with her Emerald Green scarf. And that's just her. Again, it's all of us.

I remember when my father, who is not entirely Irish, told me the story of Ireland's orange, white and green. It was, he told me, a "food flag." The orange represented the corned beef; the green, cabbage. And the white represents the mashed potatoes!

This, by most accounts, comically false, but it was a true enough an explanation as for a 7 year-old to comprehend. It also may explain why my father won affection from his father-in-law. Irish folklore is essentially founded upon such metaphorical blarney. It's a reminder that are behavioral traits are not inborn. Cliché as it may be, it is true that while our differences make us unique, we are stronger bound by the similarities that bring us together. I reminded of this phenomena every day when I walk the streets of my neighborhood, which is populated by Hispanics, Koreans, African-Americans, and a few Belfasters. We live here because we don't care much for overpriced rent or hipsters. It's a good life.

I thought about this as I listened to the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem when my wife and I got home. I love their rendition of Bob Dylan's civil rights anthem, "the hour that the ship comes in."

And really that's what this country is all about. America: were a middle-class Jew can empathize with impoverished, segregated African-Americans and find mutual inspiration with Irish immigrants.

What a world.