Independence Day 2023
You had one job - get there before the start of the parade when all the bike riders, scooterers, wagon-pullers, skateboarders, rollerskaters and walkers should come down Indian Hill in the traditional parade-leading mass. Well, it did not quite work that way this year. That is okay, there was still plenty of that small-town vibe to pass by - the local churches, the school marching bands, drill and cheer, little league all-stars, soccer all-stars, the various honorees, clubs and teams (it seemed like there were more fitness and active lifestyle marchers this year), Pilgrim Place and Claremont Manor, the Peace People, cultural groups and, what would it be without the scouts. After the parade we sat in the shade together and watched a magic show, ate a hot dog and followed it up with an ice cream cone, we walk around to learn what various community groups were up to, then stood in line together so that we could try to dunk someone in a tank of water.
Independence Day is, of course, the day we celebrate thirteen disparate colonies who were able to put aside their differences in pursuit of a common goal. In that recognizable spirit of celebration we waved flags, dressed head to toe in red, white and blue, cheered when one band struck up a patriotic tune, then did the same a few minutes later when another band followed suit. We saw that spirit in the step of a World War II veteran who, sacrificed then that others might live free today, and who carried a sign declaring a desire for peace and understanding. We saw it in the eyes of the young, the future, those who will continue a progression of freedom and democracy that was set in motion nearly 250 years ago.
Culture, as I learned it many years ago, is defined as a system of learned and shared traditions, beliefs and values. If there is, as many would hold, an American culture, it is something that must be held in common and shared among us all. That means recognizing the good and the bad, for surely there have been both. It is every generations duty to recognize them, in whatever current form they take, and to either uphold them, or combat them. It means that we all come from different backgrounds, each a wonderful thread in a grand tapestry, each an individual component of a whole.
Small town, big city, east coast, west coast, north, south, this day's celebrations look the same where ever we find ourselves. It is a taproot that feeds us all, from those who were here long before, and those who arrived just last week. Like those thirteen colonies, we are at once all different and yet all the same.
Happy Independence Day y'all. Hope you had a grand celebration of life and liberty.
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