Some songs to reflect our current feelings of Independence

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, when we traditionally celebrate the birth of our nation and while I am proud to be an American, it pains me to admit that those feelings have been harder to maintain for awhile now.

Don't worry, I'm not about to go off on a big political rant here. However, I try to be a pop culture observer and for this particular moment in time, I feel that the best way to express my inner angst about the state of things is through that spectrum.

Since music is a major part of the Independence Day holiday, I found a few songs that I think best capture the turmoil that we're all experiencing these days that also encourage us to hold fast amidst the various storms being sent our way:

HAMILTON MEDLEY: Who better than one of our original Founding Fathers to give us inspiration at a time like this? Lin-Manuel Miranda's brilliant historical musical teaches us many things about the beginnings of our country and of the follies of human nature as well. This reenactment of two songs from that award winning show reminds everyone to not just sit back and to not give away our best shot at making things right:

MORE HAMILTON THOUGHTS: This musical has inspired many to read,think and challenge the status quo and that includes the Hamilton Mixtape, where one of the best songs points out how foolish it is to discount our immigrant population and heartlessly cruel to persecute them as we have been lately:

EVERYBODY GOES TO RICK'S: There's a classic musical stand-off in the film Casablanca, where the local German forces are loudly singing their anthem at the nightclub, much to the chagrin of the crowd, many of whom had to flee their homelands due to the invading Nazi regime.

With a quiet nod of approval from Rick and an open show of defiance from rebel leader Victor Lazlo, the house band strikes up a rousing rendition of La Marseillaise that gets the oppressed audience up on their feet. For those who insist that confronting evil in public is not "nice", this shows how that can be done with true elegance and sincere belief that negates their sad stance:

 HEAR THE PEOPLE SING: I have to tell you that with all of the news getting worse and worse these days, songs from the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical Les Miserables have been on my playlist quite a bit lately.

Yes, it's French but France has always been a good ally to America, from our own Revolutionary War to WWII and beyond. Granted, I'm more into English literature but I did read the Victor Hugo novel and can appreciate the contributions that France has given to the world in the terms of promoting freedom.

Not to mention that this story has lasted for nearly two hundred years for good reason and some of those life and history lessons in song are well worth listening to,especially today:

I hope that by this time next year, the country is in a way better place, emotionally and politically, than we are right now. We can all do our part to make that happen, even if it's just signing a petition or getting out to vote this November.

What I sincerely believe that everyone wants, regardless of what side you're on, is to have that wonderful spirit of unity back again, the one that gave us comfort and strength during the other hard times that have confronted us over the years. Also, we need to regain that welcoming spirit for those wanting to make a better life in America,which is the core of our country. Let's make people happy to be part of this country again with a song in our hearts,people: