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reflect on
our virtues
As Americans gear up for another Independence Day—the 240th we’ve been fortunate enough to celebrate—we must take time from gazing at fireworks and cooking out in our backyards Tuesday to pause and reflect on both the virtues we hold as a country and the servicemen and servicewomen who defend them.
There’s a lot on the country’s plate this week besides barbeque. Troops are fighting abroad, and politicos are bickering stateside as elections draw closer. Nevertheless, those things help maintain the fiber our great nation was built on.
But for one day each year, Americans can lay down their arms (or political platforms) and cherish what each of us, regardless of race, gender, creed or economic status knows: that this truly is one of the most upstanding nations the world can offer.
This area is known to be passionate about its country. Many of you were there when The News Reporter helped organize several years ago the creation of the largest copy of the Declaration of Independence ever assembled. It was proof positive that an intense enthusiasm for everything American runs through Columbus County.
Lawmakers in Washington, D.C. recently debated the merits of constitutionally forbidding the desecration of an American flag. The proposal to ban such an action failed by one vote, securing a victory for those arguing that it would violate the First Amendment’s freedom of speech clause.
Though we stand behind the results, and the First Amendment, we hope the only thing that would ever possibly set Old Glory ablaze Tuesday is a wayward firework.
We hope you treat yourself and your family to a brush-up course in American history, in American virtues and in American spirit. Thank a serviceman if you happen to see one. Go see the fireworks displays at Lake Waccamaw Tuesday night or at Tabor City tonight. Eat a hot dog at a baseball game—hey, two American institutions in one fell swoop.
Most importantly, take time to reflect on the greatest American institution of all—freedom—and watch out for those wayward fireworks.