Indivisible Martha’s Vineyard, a local pro-democracy group, was criticized for participating in the Edgartown Fourth of July parade in a July 10 letter to the Gazette by Mark McGreenery. Mr. McGreenery was offended by our “political slogan,” which we lifted directly from the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. He found it “divisive.”

To clarify, we marched wearing T-shirts that said, “We the People – No Kings,” while carrying and waving American flags. We also had a banner that read “No Kings in America since 1776”, and several signs quoting Thomas Paine “In America, The Rule of Law is King.”

Evidently, some folks need reminding of why we celebrate Independence Day. July 4, 1776 is when the final draft of the Declaration of Independence was officially approved by the delegates of the Second Continental Congress. It contains a list of grievances against the Crown and declares a complete break with Britain and its King, claiming the powers of an independent country.

John Adams wrote, in part, that Independence Day “ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

But lest we forget what we are celebrating — the birth of a self-governing nation — We The People no longer answer to a king. I think now more than any other time in our country’s history, we need reminding of that.

I believe that John Adams and Thomas Paine would have approved of our T-shirts and applauded our patriotism, as did the thousands of fist-pumping, high-fiving, grateful, cheering parade-goers lining the streets of Edgartown.

Carla Cooper

Edgartown