Fhe Fourth of July — from 1776 to now — has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues — and that remains the case in Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina.

“The United States was formed as a result of the American Revolution when the 13 American colonies revolted against the rule of Great Britain,” according to Google. “After the war ended, the U.S. Constitution formed a new government. These 13 colonies became the first 13 states as each ratified the Constitution.

“The United States of America is the world’s foremost economic and military power. It has the third largest population in the world (325 million) and its economy produces around one quarter of the world’s wealth – $17.97 trillion in 2015.

“The fundamental purpose of the United States is laid down in the Preamble to the Constitution: ‘. . . to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.’”

However, it is increasingly noticable — and troubling to us — that Asheville, billed (rather pretentiously, some would say) as “the Paris of the South” and standing out as the most populous city in WNC and the Upstate, also seems to be the least patriotic, but, much to our relief, the city nonetheless has scheduled — for the Fourth of July — at least a rather bare-bones celebration of the birth of the greatest nation ever to exist.

 (For the record, Asheville’s population totals about 93,590 residents in 2022, surpassing neighboring rival Greenville, S.C., the region’s second-largest city, which has a population that stands at about 75,993, according to worldpopulationreview.com.)

While other cities, towns, villages and even some churches in WNC and the Upstate (and across this great nation) have worked hard to present sincere, patriotic and enthused galas to honor the USA’s founding, including parades, speeches, activities and fireworks, Asheville’s gala is more generic and fun-oriented than patriotic in nature.

In vivid contrast, the leaders of Hendersonville (just a 30-minute drive to the south of Asheville) show genuine respect and appreciation for the freedoms we have in being blessed to be born in — or having moved to—  the most-free nation in the world, with a parade, many patriotic and freedom-related activities, capped by a majestic fireworks display.

The irony is that Asheville serves as the site of what could be best referred to as a (seemingly) nonstop and mostly inane, idiotic (even laughable) smorgasbord of festivals and events in its trash-strewn, crime-ridden, crowded and chaotic downtown.

Instead of setting a good example for other communities in the region, Asheville — increasingly known for its loud, sometimes radical and violent protests that stretch the boundaries of freedom into totalitarianism — is trailing. We fear that Asheville is (perhaps) showing its true colors as a city dominated by America-bashing, pampered elitists who only half-heartedly (at best) celebrate the the USA’s precious birth on the Fourth of July. 

We’ve never seen anything like this week’s first public hearing of the House Select Committee on January 6. 

By any standards, it was a blockbuster event: The first House committee hearing produced like a Hollywood action movie. 

The first House committee hearing aired live in primetime, not only on cable news, but by all three major broadcast networks. 

And the first House committee investigating, not just some legislative proposal, but an attempt to overthrow the U.S. government.

After a year of hard work, interviewing over 1,000 witnesses and scouring 450,000 pages of documents, the committee clearly had one goal for this public hearing. It didn’t have to show us there was a violent assault on the Capitol on January 6 where property was destroyed, five police officers were killed, and lawmakers, including the vice president, had to run for their lives. We knew all of that.

The committee’s goal was to show that the man behind this attempt to overthrow the government of the United States was none other than the President of the United States himself. And it did so convincingly. 

In Congresswoman Liz Cheney’s memorable phrase, “Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack.” 

And then, as the committee showed, once the attack on the Capitol was underway, Trump did nothing to stop it. In fact, Trump called it “the greatest movement in the history of our country.” And, over video of rioters beating Capitol police officers, Trump’s voice could be heard bragging about all “the love in the air.”

Very powerfully, to make its case against Trump, the committee turned to a powerful set of witnesses: members of Donald Trump’s own White House. 

Top Trump political aide Jason Miller testified that Trump knew weeks ahead of time he was going to lose the election. Former Attorney General Bill Barr dismissed Trump’s claim of massive voter fraud as “bullshit.” 

First Daughter Ivanka Trump said she believed Barr, not her father. And Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley confirmed that Trump did not call the Pentagon on January 6 for help in stopping the violence. They only heard from Mike Pence, who was trapped under the Capitol on a loading dock as protestors chanted: “Hang, Mike Pence.”

And what was Trump’s reaction? In one of the most stunning revelations of the hearing, Trump was quoted as telling White House staffers: “Maybe our supporters have the right idea. Mike Pence deserves it.”

The committee also wisely limited in-person testimony to two witnesses on the front lines. Documentary filmmaker Nick Quested established that this was no “spontaneous” riot. 

He showed footage of leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers meeting the night before and scoping out the Capitol Building early on January 6, before Trump’s rally on the Ellipse had even begun. Members of both groups were later shown affirming that they came to D.C. on January 6 because Trump invited them.

And in the evening’s most dramatic moment, Capitol police officer Caroline Edwards described being assaulted by the mob and knocked unconscious, then getting up and jumping back in action to protect the Capitol. “I was slipping on people’s blood,” she told the committee. “It was carnage. It was chaos.”

In the end, it was Cheney again who brought it all back to Donald Trump: “All Americans should keep in mind this fact. On the morning of January 6, President Donald Trump’s intention was to remain President of the United States, despite the lawful outcome of the 2020 election and in violation of his constitutional obligation to relinquish power. Over multiple months, Donald Trump oversaw and coordinated a sophisticated, seven-part plan to overturn the presidential election and prevent the transfer of presidential power.” That sacred transfer of power, Cheney added, “has been honored by every American president – except one.”

And that raises the most important, yet unanswered, question raised by the committee: What happens next? 

The committee cannot stop at making the case against Trump without calling on the Justice Department to act. 

And the Justice Department cannot stop without holding Trump accountable for his criminal conduct.

We know, without a doubt, that Donald Trump knew he lost the election, yet lied about it, and orchestrated an effort to overturn the election and overthrow the United States government, summoning his supporters to Washington on January 6 to stage a bloody assault on the U.S. Capitol.