"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."
With
these words Thomas Jefferson embodied the heart of freedom and liberty. As the
signers of the Declaration Of Independence placed their very lives on the line
for these principles of freedom to gain independence on that summers day in 1776
they gave birth to a new idea. An idea that had never before found its equal or
better in a government by man. An idea that encompassed the most basic of human
rights but had never before been allowed to flourish in any country.
An
idea which allowed all people regardless of where they came from, who their
parents were, what their financial status was or how they worshipped the
unalienable right to think do and live as they pleased. To prosper in accordance
with their will and willingness to achieve. To worship in accordance to their
personal beliefs. To raise their family on their own land without being
subservient to another.
To live without the fear of oppression or threat
of a tyrant, monarch or government that imposed their will upon the individual.
To some all of these freedoms were not evident from the beginning but the ground
work was laid to make those freedoms possible for any and everyone.
To
this cause and the birth of this new nation in which these freedoms could find
root in the heart and life of every person who set foot upon her shores, the
signers of The Declaration dedicated themselves in, "support of this
declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we
mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.
"
It would be another six years before full independence was gained
and yet another seven more before the government which embodied theses
principles of freedom was established. In those long hard fought years many
would sacrifice their, lives , fortunes and sacred honor, to gain the freedom
that was promised in The Declaration.
Most who made this sacrifice never
signed the document that gave birth to this Nation. Most who sacrificed never
made the pledge of the signers publicly but all who sacrificed realized that
with freedom comes a price and each were willing to pay that price regardless of
the cost, for in their hearts they knew that their sacrifice would not be in
vain. With that sacrifice would come a new nation forged in blood and dedicated
to the premise that all people should and can be free.
Those who made
this sacrifice were not making an idle stand nor one that just followed the
crowd but willingly stood for what they believed and sought within their very
heart, the chance to be free. The chance to wake every morning to know that they
held within their own hands the ability to lead the life of their choosing. This
is why they fought. This is why many died and this is why throughout our history
we have continued to fight and sacrifice to pay the price of freedom.
As
we celebrate this 236th birthday of our freedom, as a nation let us not forget
the sacrifice that has been made through all of those years to continually
insure that each generation of Americans can enjoy the same freedoms as the
generations who have gone before. Let us not forget the reason that we as a
nation exist that, " life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, " may
always be our national creed and our national calling.
May we never take
for granted those freedoms and realize each freedom we possess as individuals
and as a Nation has come with great sacrifice from the very inception of our
country and that sacrifice still continues today to insure those freedoms and
this Nation continue to live. We have a heritage of freedom and it is a heritage
that we owe to continue at any cost to insure that future generations of
Americans can celebrate and live in that same freedom.
God bless America
and may He continue to bless our freedom and each of us who live in this land of
the free.
Ken Taylor
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