Gov. Healey calls for the fight for liberty to continue 250 years later: "This is our generation's time"
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey called for Americans to continue the fight for liberty as she spoke at a remembrance of the Battle of Concord and the start of the Revolutionary War Saturday, saying "our freedoms are once again under attack."
Healey was one of the speakers at the ceremony held at Old North Bridge, the site of the Battle of Concord 250 years ago. Earlier in the morning, a dawn salute was held where muskets and cannons were fired. Saturday's ceremony took part midway through a
parade
, marking the 250 years since the battle.
The Concord battle reenactment took place shortly after the Battle of Lexington reenactment earlier in the morning. After the British clashed with Minutemen in Lexington 250 years ago, they marched on to Concord, where they aimed to capture the colonists' ammunition supply.
Among the dignitaries at the ceremony were Healey, Rep. Lori Trahan and British Consul General to New England David Clay
"In Massachusetts, we have always lit the beacon. We've always answered the alarm. We have always stood our ground and we always will," said Healey. "And now is the time to honor and fulfill that legacy. We live in a moment when our freedoms are once again under attack, including from the highest office in the land. We see things that would be familiar to our revolutionary predecessors: the silencing of critics, the disappearing of people from our streets, demands for unquestioning fealty."
Healey's sentiments were echoed by Trahan, who said the founders knew that the threat to democracy wouldn't come from another country.
"What began here in Concord became the shot heard 'round the world. It was more than the start of a war, it was the beginning of an idea, that liberty is worth defending, that government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed," said Trahan, who was met with applause. "Even our founders knew that the greatest threat to this fragile experiment wouldn't come from abroad, it would come from within...In America, not one, no one, no matter how loud, wealthy or how powerful, stands above the law."
After Healey and Trahan spoke, a wreath-laying was held to remember those who fought in Concord, as well as the British soldiers who were killed in the battle and are buried in Concord. Healey and Major Gen. Gary Keefe of the Massachusetts National Guard placed one wreath at the Minuteman statue and the second was placed by Clay at the grave of the British soldiers. Following the wreath placement, a volley salute of muskets was performed from the Old North Bridge.
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