I remember my father telling me how his brother and he ran out and signed up for the Army in December 1941, weeks before the call to duty came in the mail. They weren’t waiting for a decree to defend their liberty; they were ready to join the cause immediately because not to do so would be not only unpatriotic, it would be foolish because “liberty” for everyone was at stake.
For inspiration and guidance one needs only to turn to the Declaration of Independence. Granted, it’s an old document now, written and signed by long dead men; however, the words spring forth in my mind as eternally visceral and vibrant. The unrelenting truth set forth in Jefferson’s plainly eloquent words rises to the level of scripture, for in reading it one is elevated to heights seemingly sacred. The straightforward first paragraph is like the first page of Genesis in the Bible, for what it is as a narrative but also what it represents as a preamble to all the amazing events to follow:
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for oneIn this way Jefferson captures the attention (if not the conscience) of King George and the leaders of Britain in a way that calls upon the sanctity and dignity of the human race as evidence of a need for independence. Also, by sending this message as a “declaration,” Jefferson and the signers of the document make the bold action even more decisive and obvious. They are not asking permission for freedom; they are taking the initiative themselves and will be free of their own accord.
people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with
another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate
and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God
entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that
they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Article comments
1 - Kold
I was out riding on July 4th 2006, trying to find-out why they didn’t have Go Fourth, and found a dead, baby doll with one arm on Mayberry Street, the other one was broken-off. I guess you could make TEN-thousand-one statements of what that symbolizes. I hung it up on a hook, which is how I wanna be martyred (hung, shot, guillotined, or pulled by four-horses when a shotgun is fired. Guess you‘d call that ‘Quarter-Horsing-Around’). Nevertheless, my interpretation is this: America, in it’s infancy, has no bloody idea of how much we owe God Almighty for our well-being in this Land-of-the-Free; That also makes me realize, by her lying broken in the street, how callous we are toward the unborn. Don’t know? Don’t care? “SoBeIt,” saith the Trinity. “Let the Angel of Death descend, Bill and Fred.”
2 - diana hartman
I am pleased to tell you this article is being featured in the Culture Focus today, July 5.
Diana Hartman
Culture Editor
3 - Victor Lana
Thanks for letting me know, Diana!
4 - Michael J. West
This, Victor, is what an article about the Fourth of July should look like. It's wonderful and I appreciated every word of it.