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North Highlands Firehouse in the International Spot Light
To the Editor:
On May 9, 1831, two young Frenchmen arrived to the Northeast and began a historical journey through the United States. Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont, both court officials, spent their visit observing American democracy and American life in action. Their penetrating scrutiny led them to discover much about the fiber of this nation. Tocqueville eventually authored "Democracy in America" a book that even today is regarded as a standard to understand the inner works of the USA as a society.
Among the findings behind the success of the great American experiment, the two Frenchmen noted the unprecedented and vibrant involvement of volunteers in all facets of life. A civil society that did not exclusively depended on the national government. Health, education, housing, all forms of charitable endeavors, even sports and some of the customary functions of government were all benefited by this wave of voluntarism (more than a wave, more appropriately a tsunami) . The two Frenchmen found this to be a genuinely outstanding trait, making the United Sates of America a very "peculiar society"
Nearly 30 years ago I decided to adopt the USA as my country, and surprisingly enough, the US decided to adopt me as one of its won.
From my own angle of a first generation immigrant, I have also seen voluntarism in this country to be as emblematic, and as much of our natural fiber as baseball games or fireworks on a July 4th. It is hard not to consider volunteers as the virtual fuel that moves this country forward.
For reasons of my work, I also get to meet many foreigners from literally all corners of the world, from Finland to Argentina and from China to New Zealand, and many more in between. In spite of this diversity, whenever I have the chance to drive by the North Highlands Fire Dept, I invariable find my self fill with satisfaction showing this unique institution of our community to my foreign visitors, and commenting how well we are served by unselfish volunteer firemen and women in such a critical capacity. Foreigners irrespective of their origin, invariably agree that the greatness of this country rests on those citizens that are willing to volunteer for the greeter good of their community.
Perhaps, there is nothing more consummate about voluntarism in this country than Firemen and First Responders, our local Firehouse and EMS are a perfect example of this tradition in motion. Hence, I was pleased to see that with our vote last week, we reaffirmed one of the greatest values of this nation by endorsing and recognizing our Fire Department.
J Carlos Salcedo
Cold Spring
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