Our View: Independence Is A Rare Privilege

As we launch our 10th Summertime Helping Neighbors campaign to benefit the Family Pantry of Cape Cod this Fourth of July, we’re thinking about the meaning of independence.

 Trite as it sounds, freedom isn’t free. Our national story is a complicated one, but when the people who inhabited these lands two-and-a-half centuries ago felt threats to their political freedom, they took action. Through creative politicking, years of deprivations and the stunning sacrifice of those who took up arms, they created the independent nation that we celebrate today. At the time, nobody was taking their independence for granted. Two hundred and fifty years later, we’re still struggling to protect our political freedoms.

 But every day, ordinary Americans struggle for a different kind of liberty: freedom from want. On Cape Cod, the high cost of living and low wages spell trouble for thousands of people, both seniors on fixed incomes and younger families working multiple jobs. The year-rounders who fuel the engine of our seasonal economy are particularly vulnerable.

 As we do each Independence Day, we are launching our annual Summertime Helping Neighbors campaign to benefit the Family Pantry of Cape Cod. It’s one of many worthy social safety net groups helping year-rounders make ends meet. Please join us in lending them your support by writing a check.

 Compared to fighting the Redcoats, it’s a pretty small sacrifice in support of independence.