No parades, but the splash park was open?
Have the city leaders forgotten the reason the 4th of July is a national holiday?
John Adams upon signing the document declaring independence from Great Britain, shared his ideas about future commemorations of that epoch event in a letter to his wife:
“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
The last sentence of the Declaration summarized the founder’s devotion to the cause of liberty:
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
They pledged their lives, literally, in a pursuit of a freer life for themselves and their posterity, they expected future generations to appreciate, celebrate and defend the new nation.
Our lack of commitment to public parades celebrating the freedom we all enjoy is a sad reflection of a value system gone awry. Shame on us, and shame on you, those in leadership, who made decisions all across our county to open up places of amusement but cancel celebrations of remembrance of the founding of our great nation.
Cindy Vick
Arlington
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