RALLYING AROUND THE FLAG: If there was...

RALLYING AROUND THE FLAG: If there was any doubt about the new patriotism that’s going around these days, just take a look at the Hot 100, which is--for better or worse--usually a pretty accurate reflection of popular attitudes (Washington Wives please take note). Following the lead of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” we now have a trio of red, white and blue anthems: James Brown’s “Living in America” (No. 8 on the Billboard charts), John Cougar Mellencamp’s “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” (No. 11), the Electric Light Orchestra’s “Calling America” (No. 36) and the latest entry, Jackson Browne’s “For America” (No. 52 in its second week on the charts). And that’s not counting Bob Seger’s new single, “American Storm,” or the current Chrysler ad, “Born in America,” that the firm released after Springsteen turned down a multimillion-dollar offer for the rights to “Born in the U.S.A.”