Governments benefit from all good works from their citizens in numerous ways, and included in this are not only monetary benefits but educational benefits for its future citizenry. It all depends on the scope of the festival and the theme.

If the theme of the festival is somehow related to good citizen and ethical and moral concerns such as those labeled as for boy scouts and girl scouts, Four H club activities and other civic projects, the rewards will be unseen, unknown, but will benefit future farmers, home makers, law makers, teachers, artists, business people and all concerned. Good citizenship will be the payment.

The lawyers, the judges, the governor, even, may be asked to attend and to address the crowd as to some upcoming event, legislation that will directly be beneficial to the government.

The United States is festival oriented. Every state has its priorities when it comes to putting on a show for surrounding states and often times, although they will probably deny this, competition is stiff. And each state usually has a fair sometime during the year and attempts to give all concerned a look at what they are about.

The state of Kentucky has its Derby, which is, in essence, nothing more than a high class festival with high stakes indeed. (The leaders will probably disagree as to labeling but I see it as a yearly event where the world is invited to enter their best horse. In the other part of the state in December, Christmas festivals and fairs abound.

On the local level counties have their own celebrating and they are numerous. Of course they are simply excuses to get together and to sell the crafts they have been creating all year and to get to meet new friends. In all a good way to have a good time.

Maybe they grow the best apples, or once did, and their festival will concern itself with apples. Or something different, something that gets a lot of publicity and draws a crowd, such as West Virginia's ramp festival. Local governments are the beneficiaries of these smaller gatherings. If anyone in the area is running for some office then they will no doubt be there to win support.

Governments are about people and the people they serve. From the national level, to the state level, to the county level and to the district. This is the way my country is divided and I suppose other countries have similar arrangements.

And I also hope that all governments every where realize that they are there to serve the people and the people are not there to serve them. To obey the laws and to go about logically and morally to try to change the laws that do not work, yes, the people must do. Any other kind of thinking or doing is wrong.

Lessons from history tell us that when dictators control the country for their own personal benefit, the country will not long endure. It cannot. So therefore, in a broad sense, festivals serve the governments because they have as their intention to give something to the people. What then are governments if not but a group of capable people standing in for the others? How can that not benefit any government, be it Sudan, Myanmar, Iraq, England, France, Ireland, Canada, Switzerland, and my own, the United States. (All those I didn't mention are likewise included.)

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