What did you do today … for freedom?
What did you do today … for freedom?
I received a series of WWII posters the other day and this one really set me to thinking. Yes, about freedom … but also about patriotism. We’ve been reading and hearing a lot about patriotism – being a patriot. Patriot is defined as a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country. That covers a whole bunch of us … we all say we love our country.
But what about supporting? And defending? You may say that you pay taxes – that’s supporting our country. Yes, that is true. You’re a member of many patriotic groups – sorry, you lost that argument. Simply being a member of many groups doesn’t qualify. When’s the last time you actually DID something patriotic? Have you carried the flag in a parade? Have you stood at your local airport and welcomed home our military members returning from service abroad? Do you even fly the flag at your home? Do you know the proper way to dispose of a tattered United States flag? See, there are all kinds of things we never even think about but that we should know. Millions of us marched on Washington in early September 2009 … because we are so concerned about what’s happening to our country … because we are so concerned about what seems to be corruption within our government … because we are scared and feel helpless to stop our country’s plunge into depression … Socialism … Communism … take your pick!.
Let’s back up 200-and some odd years to the first patriots – the men who founded our country and discuss what a patriot really is. The Founding Fathers of our country … the signers of the Declaration of Independence and some interesting facts about them. Most of them were just like you and me – concerned about their country. But, you see, their country was England. And when they decided to found a new nation, they became traitors to their own country. How is that we now defend these men so vigorously?? They were traitors – no, they were patriots.
Here’s a few interesting facts about the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence: Twenty-four were lawyers / jurists; eleven were merchants; nine were farmers and large plantation owners; five were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned; two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured; nine fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
While we all know of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, John Adams, and other famous signers . . . here is what happened to several of the lesser known ones … Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy … he sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags; Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly … he served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding … his possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward; Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Rutledge, and Middleton had their properties looted by vandals or soldiers; Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed … the enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
Thomas Nelson Jr., at the battle of Yorktown, noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.
These are the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed or war hungry men … but soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty and freedom more. Standing tall, they pledged … “For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
Now let’s talk about patriotism. Are you a patriot? Are you willing to sacrifice as did these early patriots? After some soul-searching and squirming, for or most of us … the answer is no. We’re willing to raise our fists and make signs and march with a million other people … but by ourselves, what are we willing to do to save our country?
Lucky for us, we aren’t by ourselves! We’re in an organization called Change the Congress in 2010 – where we can be part of a larger group and have our voices heard far and wide. We’re in an organization where we all send faxes to our Senators and Representatives telling them to represent US – the voters who elected them. We’re in an organization where we learn how to make our voices heard … where we learn how to find candidates to run against career politicians … where we can talk and discuss the best ways to bring about change … where we can actually take a vote and send our message off to Congress, to the media, to the White House.
What did you do today … for freedom? Freedom is priceless. Its cost is the many lives given for us to have it …lives given in wars … in the fight to found our nation … in battlefields across the world where Americans bravely march for freedom. What I want from you is a pledge: “We won’t let another day pass without doing something for freedom. It is our fight … and our right.”
http://www.changethecongressin2010.com/html/article_2.html
