Harford County and surrounding areas will have an extended Indpendence Day celebration to look forward to once again this year.
Beginning on Saturday with the parade and fireworks in Darlington, then on to Havre de Grace Sunday for the parade, entertainment and fireworks, followed by the celebrations of Wednesday, the 4th, in Bel Air all day, culminating with the parade and fireworks; in Kingsville mid-morning with the parade and in Joppatowne early evening with the parade and concert, there’s obviously plenty to see and do in honoring our nation’s birthday.
Over the decades the majority of us in the readership area of The Aegis and The Record have come to appreciate the hard work and dedication that goes in to each of our local Independence Day celebrations.
There are hundreds of volunteers putting in untold hours of effort to make sure a good time is had by one and all, resident and visitor alike. These folks have nothing to gain personally other than the opportunity to share their love of country and love of community, which says quite a lot.
The parades, the fireworks, the concerts, the fun activities don’t just happen every July; each event takes months of planning (and many prayers the weather will cooperate.)
Appropriately, the spirit shown by our Independence Day programs’ volunteers very much mirrors the spirit of caring and stepping forward that characterized the colonials who charted the course of independence and then fought to achieve it more than 240 years ago.
That spirit of 1776 carried forward to 2018 – and will continue on, and it’s what has made America great and will continue to make it great. It has nothing to do with political sloganeering and base rhetoric, and we hope when you head out to your favorite event or events this weekend and next week that you will keep this in mind.
Our country is great because it espouses freedom: the freedom to speak, worship and believe as each one of us wishes, and the freedom to act compassionately and thoughtfully in all we do. There is no room for bullying or for hollow, meaningless or inflammatory thoughts, words or deeds in a free country, only for brave and caring actions in defense of our freedoms.
When you celebrate the birth of the United States of America over the coming days, please keep in mind that regardless of what faults you may believe exist in our country, there’s still none better or brighter.
We wish everyone a safe and happy Independence Day. We thank all the volunteers for efforts to help us celebrate the birth of the American Way and the proud history of the greatest country in the world. May God Bless America now and forever. Long may her light shine bright for all.
