Pastor Daimon – CCTA Chairman
I certainly hope that everyone was able to enjoy their day on the 4th of July, celebrating Independence Day with family or friends in ways that will be memorable. This year there has been something incredibly patriotic in the air; an atmosphere of America’s greatness that I haven’t felt for decades. There was prayer everywhere, the Pledge of Allegiance, The Star-Spangled Banner, and the reading of the Declaration of Independence were everywhere, except…the Tryon Palace in New Bern. As much as I love our American history and our state’s history, the Tryon Palace’s place in our state’s history is not only paramount to North Carolina, but should be a strong representation for our state on the national level.
Oh, there was a reading of the Declaration of Independence, but the vacuum created by the absence of prayer, the Star-Spangled Banner, and the Pledge of Allegiance was as anti-American as I have seen in my lifetime for a place of such historical significance. There were no flags flanking the reader of the Declaration of Independence…United States flag nor the North Carolina flag. Then, there was the sneaky, surprise visit of a state dignitary, who for the time of the general election campaign totally ignored New Bern in his quest to obtain the office which he holds. Tryon’s Facebook photos are only 6 in number with 4 of them containing photos of this dignitary and none of the reader of the Declaration of Independence. Thank God for the other organizations that were present who displayed several photos of the events at the Tryon. Otherwise, the citizens who follow the Tryon Palace on Facebook would think that it was only a staged political make-up visit by this elected official.
This is not only my sentiments, but that of many citizens of New Bern whom I spoke with who visited that pitiful attempt of appeasement to our community which was a disaster to say the least. The staff and Administrators need to pay more attention to fulfilling the call to establish a patriotic celebration of America’s Independence on July 4th than to pushing a political agenda for individuals who have never shown any love or respect for the people of our community. Shame on you, Tryon Palace. This was supposed to be a gala and celebration of the 249th birthday of the United States of America. Maybe we need to replace the staff and organizers with true Patriots who love our nation. With all of the good, the bad, the ugly, and many failures, the United States is still the greatest nation in the history of the world with more victories than any nation has ever experienced. Victories not only for us, but the United States throughout its history has fought for many of its allies that they too may experience a sweet piece of liberty for their citizens. Tryon Palace should remember the purpose of July 4th and what a celebration of that day looks like.