In this day and age, it seems like as a nation, state and community we are more splintered than ever before — but that’s why community events, such as the 28th annual Celebrate La Grande, is such a good thing.

The event is set for Sept. 7 from 5-7 p.m. at Riverside Park. There will be free hot dogs, chips and bottled water available along with ice cream. A live band — Standard Deviation — will also perform.

There will be plenty of activities for children too, and many nonprofit organizations will be on hand with display tables.

Of course, in the larger scheme of things, a small event may not seem to be that big a deal, but for any community such gatherings are very important.

That’s because our sense of community is crucial. It is crucial for our future, for the present, and a way to establish for our youth a sense of belonging, pride and knowledge of our great town.

We need more events like Celebrate La Grande on a more regular basis. The more we can do now to bring people together the better off our democracy will be. Right now, our democracy needs all the help it can get.

One of the best ways to ensure our democracy remains vibrant is to bring people together in a low-key, positive environment.

We are a politically diverse nation and state. We all have different opinions and different political outlooks. Yet our differences should not be a negative element to our democracy but one of the items that makes it strong. One set of political beliefs, to the exclusion of all others, isn’t good for democracy.

So, the more we know about each other, the better we will be able to work together. An event such as Celebrate La Grande is a way for all of us to congregate, have some fun and get to know each other.

Will one community event solve our political differences? Of course not. But it won’t hurt either. Such an event can bring us closer and, perhaps, boost our knowledge of each other.