EDITORIAL: May the Fourth bring out our best

Fourth of July

Independence Day.

Today, we will celebrate this country's birthday. We will watch parades. We will set off fireworks. We will barbecue with family and friends. We will drink beer and play games. And all of that is great. Nothing wrong with having fun. 

But certainly, there is more.

We ask that you take a moment to reflect on what makes this country great. Because you have a part in it. You play a role.

It's not just the freedom we have thanks to those men and women who served in our military branches and fought to protect our rights to live, work and play where we choose. 

It's not just the wide open spaces, the education system, the medical care. 

It's something more.

Resiliency comes to mind.

America is many things. Resilient is one. 

Americans are a proud and loud lot, for good reason. This country has risen and fallen untold times over the centuries. But we never stay down. We keep getting up. We get up again and again and again. 

Which brings us to where we are today.

Despite the tragedies and heartache of recent days due to senseless deaths of our brave firefighters, we will endure. We will rebuild. We will start over if we have to, but we will go on. It is what this country has been doing since its birth and something it will continue to do. We will rise up.

We will face more hardships. There will be more tears. There will be more pain.

And when that happens, life won't be the same. 

Sometimes, that brings out the best in us because that is when we stand strongest. As friends and neighbors. As a city. As a country. 

Together, we can lighten the loads for each other.

That's a good reason to celebrate July 4.