A Significant, Relevant Fourth of July

July 3, 2010

[bd476]

Parades, fireworks, baseball games, cookouts, camping out, a day off, sparklers, and patriotic music are the traditions we enjoy celebrating the beginning of our great Nation on the fourth of July.

Yet it is critical, now more than ever, that we remember our forefathers' maturity, wisdom and great courage when they agreed with and then signed their names below the very clear yet profound statements found throughout the Declaration of Independence.

This weekend please take time to consider their bravery in the context of the times they lived in, when there were no televisions, no radios, only limited newspapers for those who could read; there were no Sean Hannitys, no Rush Limbaughs, no Glenn Becks, no 24 hour online Conservative forums such as Free Republic and thus, not the slightest respite from a government's oppression in squelching verbal and written dissent often at the end of a rope or in front of a firing squad.

Each signatory had to have realized the grave risk both he and his family faced from the simple act of him signing his name, back in the days when a man's words, promises, name and signature bore great weight.

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When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one 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.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world...

[bd476]

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is at once the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson's most enduring monument.

Here, in exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people. The political philosophy of the Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers.

What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in "self-evident truths" and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country.

Declaration of Independence

[FourPeas]

I agree with your sentiments completely.

One thing, though: the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. Historians debate the date of its signing, but August 2, 1776 seems to be the most favored date at present.

[wolfpat]

http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/2010/06/27/

[bd476]

Happy August 2nd to you and yours. :)

[bd476]

Very good. Thank you for the link. :)

[bd476]

Parades, fireworks, baseball games, cookouts, camping out, a day off, sparklers, and patriotic music are the traditions we enjoy celebrating the beginning of our great Nation on the fourth of July.

Yet it is critical, now more than ever, that we remember our forefathers' maturity, wisdom and great courage when they agreed with and then signed their names below the very clear yet profound statements found throughout the Declaration of Independence.

This weekend please take time to consider their bravery in the context of the times they lived in, when there were no televisions, no radios, only limited newspapers for those who could read; there were no Sean Hannitys, no Rush Limbaughs, no Glenn Becks, no 24 hour online Conservative forums such as Free Republic and thus, not the slightest respite from a government's oppression in squelching verbal and written dissent often at the end of a rope or in front of a firing squad.

Each signatory had to have realized the grave risk both he and his family faced from the simple act of him signing his name, back in the days when a man's words, promises, name and signature bore great weight.

Fortunately today we have Free Republic, still open and providing the opportunity for all conservatives to express dissent against our current out of control government.

Liberty is not free. Please consider donating now to the 3rd Quarter 2010 FReepathon.

[onyx]

This is lovely, bd476, and beautifully written. Thank you very much. God bless.

[4Runner]

Wake up everyone. If the founding fathers ever foresaw just how self-destructive and dumbed-down the idiot voters and Congress of the United States were going to be in the year 2008, they would have patched things up with old George, sailed back to England, and left the colonies to the Indian savages. Shame on us. We don’t deserve the responsibility of carrying on the legacy the founding fathers created for so many generations of Americans. Where has all of our nationalized anti-Christian self-hatred come from? Where are all our elected representatives ready willing and able to remove the usurpers from both houses of Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court, and to demand that the Feds defend our border against the tide of Mexican invaders who run rampant over our land, turning the majestic landscape of the Old West into a vast and unending vista of used Pampers and Trojans, while they preempt our social services, commit crimes against our citizens, and take jobs away from able-bodied Americans.

[bd476]

Thank you, Onyx. God Bless you!

[afnamvet]

Thank you bd476 for posting this and the ping. Happy 4th of July to you and yours. May God bless America.

[bd476]

You're welcome for the Ping, AFNamVet. Thank you for your kind words! Here's a Happy 4th of July to you and yours as well. And yes, God Bless America! :)

[bd476]

4Runner wrote: "Wake up everyone. If the founding fathers ever foresaw just how self-destructive and dumbed-down the idiot voters and Congress of the United States were going to be in the year 2008, they would have patched things up with old George, sailed back to England, and left the colonies to the Indian savages.

Shame on us. We don't deserve the responsibility of carrying on the legacy the founding fathers created for so many generations of Americans... "

Responsibility is the key. 4Runner, what you wrote is so clear in message and intent, it bears repeating. God Bless Our Nation.

[USALiberty]

YES! We should be circulating a contract for all REAL conservatives to sign. Call it the Impeachment Promise. Candidates would pledge to pursue impeachment and removal of the Kenyan Usurper and the “vice president” if the Republicans get a big enough majority to make that possible. Those who refuse to sign will be revealed as RINOs.