The July 4 holiday celebration over the next several days presents Delaware Cape Region's - and our nation's - greatest annual display of patriotism. There will be parades on our streets and waterways, children's games, and loud, bright public displays of fireworks in Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach and - for the first time in decades - in Lewes.
As we crane our necks toward the sky, seeing the "rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air," we should take a minute or two to think about the freedoms that the founders of this nation set out to safeguard when they signed the Declaration of Independence 242 years ago on July 4, 1776.
Delaware's John Dickinson, often called the Penman of the Revolution, for 10 years leading up to the declaration had been writing widely published letters to his fellow colonists about the injustice of Great Britain's king and parliament taxing the Colonies without representation. He was all about questioning authority. The seeds he sowed in his published letters took root in the Colonies where there was growing frustration over England's taxing policies.
In 1791, after the successful Revolutionary War completed the separation from England, representatives of the new states passed 10 amendments to the new nation's Constitution, including protection for anyone responsibly questioning authority.
The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom for all of us to assemble peacefully to discuss issues or protest policies as the colonists had done.
Even though we may disagree, we're bound by those freedoms. A strong democracy depends on citizens tempering the steel of their nation by questioning their leaders and insisting that those setting policies at all levels articulate their reasons so there can be understanding to fuel informed discussion.
The July 4 holiday celebrates our freedoms with noise and color, and the enthusiasm that allows us to still hear the ring of the liberty bell resonating steadily almost two-and-a-half centuries later.
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Editorials are considered and written by Cape Gazette Editorial Board members, including Publisher Chris Rausch, Editor Jen Ellingsworth, News Editor Nick Roth and reporters Ron MacArthur and Chris Flood.
