Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to letters@bangordailynews.com
On the morning of July 4th I wondered what there was to celebrate on America’s 250th birthday. I mean, what with the government being a mess and all.
In Surry there was an hour-long ceremony planned at Memorial Park with a reading of The Gettysburg Address, a color guard, and group singing of patriotic songs. I have a camp on Deer Isle, where they have a wonderful parade with floats that are funny and clever and meaningful, designed and constructed by groups in the community.
People in these small towns bother to organize such events because our country is worth celebrating. We are a nation whose foundation is the simple idea that all of us are created equal and that we have certain unalienable rights.
What forms the basis for a government changes the nation. It matters that our leaders govern at the consent of “we the people.” It is worth celebrating that, throughout history, we have always had people who continued to work toward those aspirations. It is the glue that holds us together and makes our nation strong.
We are of many skin colors, nationalities, languages and ways of worshipping, and there are those today who want you to believe that we can’t be one strong nation like that. They want to get rid of the differences, to make Christianity the religion, white the skin color, English the language, and historical ties to the soil the determining factor for citizenship. Those people have missed the point. The belief in our ideals cuts across all of those differences and is the strongest glue there is.
Thousands of communities made up of lots of different-looking, different-sounding people put on celebrations this year to show pride in being part of this 250-year-old project, founded on important ideas. Happy Birthday, America! We still love you!
Carolyn Bower
Surry