Here's links to three stories from the BBC that offer some insight into contemporary America.

First up, the f-word-addicted (and fantastically funny) Chris Rock:

'Vulgar' Oscar host Rock attacked

Oscars ceremony producer Gil Cates (left) has defended Chris Rock A US Christian group has criticised the choice of comedian Chris Rock as host of this year's Oscars ceremony because they say he is "lewd" and "vulgar". Concerned Women for America (CWA) said the choice proved Hollywood was "out of touch" with the rest of the country. CWA said: "Hollywood seems intent on spreading vulgarity far and wide. "So the F-word-spewing Chris Rock might actually be the perfect Tinseltown ambassador." The Oscars ceremony will take place on 27 February. Next, Transatlantic divisions run deep, by Justin Webb: America is strait-laced and earnest, and is getting more so with every passing day. A recent example which caught my eye, I thought at first it was a joke, that several television stations refused to allow the screening of Steven Spielberg's film Saving Private Ryan. Saving Private Ryan, starring Tom Hanks, is not pornographic, nor is it grotesquely violent. It is a war film with some shooting and some swearing. America is fast becoming a nation of faith not fact Although it would be shown on any television station anywhere in Europe, with no comment and no censorship, the swearing is too much for America. At least they say it is the swearing, but I wonder if there is a more profound difficulty here. My memory of the film is that it is occasionally grittily realistic. In the battle scenes, soldiers are scared and their deaths are not always terribly glorious. It is in other words true to life, and that is another area where Europe and America increasingly diverge. America is fast becoming a nation of faith not fact. A nation where the unpleasant aspects of human existence are simply airbrushed away.

And finally, a Love letter to America, by departing journalist Rob Watson:

Though I love the way America looks, its enduring appeal is the way it feels, its people and their attitude to life.

It may all go back to Thomas Jefferson's claim in the Declaration of Independence in 1776 that the pursuit of happiness is among life's unalienable rights.

Whether it is or not, I have no idea, but certainly most of the Americans I know are in hot pursuit of the happiness thing.

And most are pretty successful according to those surveys so beloved by the opinion pollsters, which suggest Americans are among the happiest people on the face of this earth.

As infectious as their happiness is their optimism and "can do" spirit, the sense that there is no problem which does not have a solution.

When covering the child sex abuse scandal surrounding the Roman Catholic church in Boston, I was stunned at the determination and belief of local catholics in their ability to reform their church rather than deciding to leave it, as often happened in the wake of similar cases in other countries.

As a reporter, who would not love this country where people trustingly invite you into their homes and lives, and where opinions are given so forcefully and freely.