Our Community Fabric
By Albert B. Kelly
It’s only been a couple of weeks, but the July Fourth
holiday seems like it was a long time ago. Maybe that’s because we, as a
country, are in the summer of our discontent. The holiday sort of got lost in
the shootings and protests and heat and unrest that dominate the landscape.
But for me, the July Fourth holiday reaffirmed the fact that
the substance and value of “community”, is really with our friends and
neighbors and colleagues and it really has always been this way. I say that
even as I think about the fireworks display we have each year to celebrate.
This year, as was the case in years past, it happened only
because of the generosity and investment from Bridgeton’s friends. Knowing of
the need, each stepped up to support us with gifts and donations that allowed
us to plan the event and cover costs.
In 2016, it was Cape Bank, Hopewell Township, Fralinger
Engineering, Gruccio, Pepper, DeSanto & Ruth, P.A; Long Marmero LLP , Mr.
Nestor Smith, Joseph E. Colson Agency, Blaney & Karavan, P.C., Brock D.
Russell, LLC., Bertram Law Office, Willis North America, Inc., and TD Bank.
Thank you all.
In years past, it was other firms and individuals who
donated for fireworks – each gave according to their ability. Not every year is
the same and coming out of the recession and with a fast moving landscape,
there’s not always room financially, so it makes this support that much more
meaningful.
In addition to thanking them on behalf of all those who
enjoyed themselves at the fireworks this year, I thought it was also worth
saying that the holiday, for me and for several others I spoke with, took on an
added meaning in light of what’s been happening throughout the land.
As I watched the “rockets’ red glare” in City Park, I
briefly thought about the fact that what’s happening today is really an awfully
hard struggle with ourselves to redefine our American experience- to
recalibrate or reaffirm what it means to be an American- to decide which
masters will rule; fear, hope, convenience, security, liberty, righteousness,
or whatever.
That process won’t be done by the next July Fourth fireworks
celebration or even the one after that; but it’s enough to know that that’s
what were in the middle of doing right now and there’s no way to avoid it.
Standing in the park that evening while pondering our own
Bridgeton version of the “bombs bursting in air”, I thought about police
officers. Ours were present that night as they are every Independence Day to
make sure everything is alright- as do our fire fighters.
I thought about the fact that with Memorial Day and
Veteran’s Day, we celebrate the men and women of the military who protect our
way of life. Yet their service is mostly outward facing, performed in other
places- sacrifices made in distant lands with unfamiliar names and cultures.
Not so much our police, they don’t really have holidays like
our military get. Yet, they do domestically what our military dare not do in
our towns and cities. We know the reason for the separation between pure
military power and “the voice of the people” - police fill that space between
the two.
In filling that space domestically, they are “first
guardians” of what lets America be great; the ideals and laws, but also our
assumptions – our expectations as citizens and residents- at least on the
domestic tranquility side. No doubt there’s work to do, but we ask far more of
them than was asked in generations past.
They are now expected to be first responders to threats that
originate in distant lands for obscure reasons- and not just in the big cities.
Even in smaller cities they’re the nerve endings for the country’s nervous
system- pain registers with them first at the site of an injury.
Yet, they must balance their role as first responders in a
global war on terror with community policing so that on any given day they
might respond to a jihadist with an AR-15 an hour after responding to a senior
citizen who locked the keys in the car. Maybe switching gears and downshifting
is harder than we know.
My point is that without the generosity of our friends and
supporters, there are no fireworks and more importantly, no private moments of
reflection on Independence Day. It all happens because we have friends,
supporters, donors, neighbors, police- our own community fabric. It’s no small
thing.