Letters to the Editor
Happy 4th
Dear Independent:Independence Day celebrates the birthday of the United States of America. On July 4, 1776, our Founders adopted the Declaration of Independence, marking the birth of our great Nation and establishing a hopeful vision of liberty and equality that endures today. Congress established Independence Day as a holiday in 1870 and Congress reaffirmed it as a holiday in 1938.
This year, America celebrates its 230th birthday and in doing so we celebrate the ideals of freedom and opportunity that our State and Nation holds dear. Our strength and prosperity are testaments to the enduring power of our founding ideals. The American creed remains powerful today because it represents the universal hope of all mankind.
As communities across Maine mark this major midsummer holiday with parades, fireworks, picnics and the playing of the "Star Spangled Banner", we are grateful for the blessings that freedom represents and for the opportunities it affords.
We celebrate our God-given rights to liberty and life, and are humbled in remembering the many courageous men and women who have served and sacrificed throughout our history to preserve, protect, and expand these liberties. As Maine's proud servicemen and women face today's challenges, they draw on the courage of our Founding Fathers and the resolve of our citizens to embrace the challenges ahead. It is through your valor and sacrifice that Maine and the Nation has been strengthened and renewed.
So, as we celebrate the founding of our Nation, we honor you - the men and women of the military who volunteer to help make our freedom possible. I thank you for volunteering to serve Maine, our country and the cause of freedom. May God bless and protect you and those you love, and may He continue to bless the Great State of Maine.
As the Virginia Gazette stated on July 18th, 1777 "Thus may the 4th of July, that glorious and ever memorable day, be celebrated through America, by the sons of freedom, from age to age till time shall be no more. Amen and Amen."
Have a safe and enjoyable holiday.
Governor John E. Baldacci
Send your letters to the Editor at PO Box 6, York, ME 03909 or via email to editor@yorkindependent.net. Deadline for publication is 12:00 noon on the Monday prior to that week's publication
