Waynesboro’s annual Independence Day Celebration on July 3rd was once again a huge success! The weather, although very warm, remained favorable throughout the day and evening with clear skies and no threat of rain. Waynesboro City Park was filled with people looking at and buying from all the vendors, who were offering all kinds of food, arts & crafts, and other goodies. The musical performers drew in even more people, beginning with the Mars Hill Bluegrass Band, followed by Burning Las Vegas and culminating with the headlining artist, Kylie Morgan.
An estimated 2,850 people came through the park, with countless more gathering all around the city to watch the spectacular fireworks display. Many commented that the fireworks just keep getting better and better each year.
Amidst all the food, fireworks, and fun, the true meaning of Independence Day can sometimes elude us. The New American magazine tells us, “In the American holiday calendar, no day is more significant than the Fourth of July, in which we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. That Declaration proclaimed to the world our separation from Great Britain and our emergence as a new sovereign nation, as we state in the pledge to our flag, ‘under God, with liberty and justice for all.’
“The Declaration stated unequivocally: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.’
“Those few words sum up the divine source of our unalienable rights and our philosophy of government. Nothing quite so revolutionary had been proclaimed anywhere by any people. But those beliefs had to be affirmed by a long, bloody war, which was finally won. The result has been this shining light on a hill, the United States of America, the freest, most creative, productive, and richest nation in the history of mankind.”
