''Our Lives, Our Fortunes, And Our Sacred Honor''

If you were strolling the courtyard of the State House in Philadelphia on that July day, chances are you had a mixture of emotions. Excitement melded with caution. Great jubilation mingled with great fear. The build-up to this moment had really been amassing for several years. Its origins were in small bars and coffeehouses in the New England area, specifically, in the Boston township. Boston leaders were the most hot-headed and committed to the cause. But, the other states had their firebrands, men who were prepared to stop at nothing for the greater cause. There had been battles in the field and death before this day. Horrible suffering for the past 15 months, ever since the first shots were fired on Concord Bridge in Massachusetts. Throughout all of the hardships and setbacks, through all of the fear and pessimism, finally, today, the document would be read. The complete document had gone through several revisions before it was approved  by its sponsers on the second of July. On the fourth, Congress officially gave its blessings. So, on this hot day of July the 8th, in the year of 1776, the public gathered in this courtyard to hear what amounted to hearing its freedom finally validated. This would become the most important single statement in history. It was The Declaration Of Independence....... ''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 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....'' These powerful words were the beginning of this document. Seen now over two hundred years later, the prose seems somewhat inflated. In fact, the day that this was read in that courtyard, most in the crowd that had gathered became restless at some point. The reason is that the author of the document, Thomas Jefferson, had, at times, written over the heads of the common people in order to make his argument. The words are stunning in written form, but, the average, not yet citizen, was stumped at various points. The basic thrust of what Jefferson had written was, in a nutshell, that any people, in any environment that has an oppressive regime controlling them, has all the right in the world to overthrow that regime and form a new government. Power to the people [ right on]. Later on in the declaration, Jefferson listed the abuses the King Of England had inflicted on the colonies. I have excerpted a few. See if they sound familiar...... ''He [ The King] has made Judges dependant on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.'' .... ''He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance....'' ''For protecting them, by mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should committ on the Inhabitants of these States...'' ''For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent...'' ''For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury...'' ''For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences...'' ''For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Government...'' ''For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever...''..... It was a different time, I know, with that era's abuses based on life around them as they lived it. However, the abuses still remain today in updated forms. The only difference is we no longer belong to the King of England. Our King is a President. We are just as beholden to our government as the Revoluntionary rebels in the 1770's were to England. Some things have changed, but, the brutal fact is the powerful continue to control the population and use them to fight wars, tax us to death, and committ abuses of our civil rights in the name of good government. The people will always be the chess pieces to be used by the hands of power. Oh, the chess board may look different throughout history. But, the rules of the game still apply..... ''We, therefore, the Represenatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independant States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved, and that as Free and Independant States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independant States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with the firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor...''....... A month later, 56 signatures would be listed on the Declaration Of Independence. Names such as Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Robert Morris, John Adams, and his cousin, Samuel Adams [ long before he became better known through beer ]. These men were genuine heroes. Some were quite rich and could have just sat out whatever war by watching in the comfort of their homes. But, by putting their names and signatures on this document, each man became a hunted man, wanted for treason by England. Had they been caught, they surely would have forfeit their lives and been hung. They did not care. Freedom meant more to them than personal comfort. In the selfish society that the world is today, giving up the way of life that these men had going for them is nothing short of astounding. How many people today would willingly part with fortunes and personal safety for the overall good of mankind and for the future of a country? Not many. They would be called fools and the exploiters in the world would instantly take advantage of their good intentions. That is a cold statement to write, but, sadly, a correct one. With the world we have going today, with its smear merchants and personal grasps for power, the ideas and goodwill of the well-intentioned are forever buried. I believe, with the practices of this government today, the Founding Fathers would be crushed to innuendo and corporate greed and they might be called terrorists...... Ok. Enough of the gloom of how we did not live up to the promise that these brave men held out for us. Now, let me talk about how we did do well. Personal freedom, and freedom of expression, still are the greatest legacy from the declaration. We have boundaries, yes, but, as the old cliche says, we can do and be anything we want. This country has the natural ability to see its flaws and correct them, the biggest example being the ending of slavery. We have led the world in inventions and technology. We have supported others who fight for the ounce of freedom that we have. We have not been perfect in picking our allies. But, we amend the situation, hopefully, in a decent and rational manner. I love that the United States is not perfect. That means we are constantly correcting and evolving ourselves to be better, all-around human beings. I do believe we still stand for the underdog, regardless of the cynicism about government control I have written above. There is a decency and caring that the people in this country have that transcends the world. After all, if we were so bad and horrible, why would people continue to come to this land in record waves, both legally and illegally? It is not our nice cars and homes and the various amenities that make up our lives, but, rather, the boundless optimism and the ability of dreams coming true that bring people to this country. Our most vicious enemies know this and that is a prime reason why they hate us so much. There is corruption and ugliness, but, more than any people in history, the United States has the ability to solve these problems and be the shining knight. Selfishness and the fear of the unknown are the prime enemies to our greatness continuing. As the years have gone on, we have, in some quarters, moved away from the passion of our Founding Fathers. Let us remember that these brave men were not without sin. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, who wrote so passionately about freedom and oppression, himself was a slave owner his whole life. He had wanted to mention the slavery of blacks in the original draft but was talked out of it by the other delegates for fear that they would lose the support of the southern states. These men were brave, but, deeply flawed, like the great nation that they helped to create. I go back to the ability of this great country to correct its internal problems. We can do it. We have in the past. The violence in the streets and the corruption in Big Business can, and must, be dealt with as only a decent people like ours can do. It won't be perfect, but, as I, like all of you, get ready to celebrate the 4th of July, I hope that the spirit of independence will once again rise up and bring about the better angels of our nature, as Lincoln once said. It is our sacred Honor as human beings to continue down the road of decency and courage and the pursuit of right that these men blazed in 1776. I hope that somewhere out there, men and women, now unknown, will rise up and pick up the torch of these men. They will be our future heroes. Because, as we know, you can be anything you want in this country if you try....... ''You may say I'm a dreamer. But, I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And, the world will live as one...''