In this June 10, 2008 file photo, an American flag flutters within view of the posted prices for gasoline at a station in Cle Elum, Wash. The nation's psyche is battered and bruised, the sense of pessimism palpable. The Independence Day holiday is typically a time to honor all that we are as a nation, but the feeling is there's less to celebrate on this our 232nd birthday. Happy? It would seem not. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, file)

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