Happy Independence Day!

[Sassy]

"I think it is important to reflect on the significance of Independence Day. Not only what it meant to America, but what it meant to the world, and how much of the philosophical underpinnings have been all but lost today. I commonly witness with great disgust the twisting of phrases such as "Freedom isn't free" or "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." These are now believed to mean, respectively, "Some of our soldiers must die, and we must spend insane amounts of money to occupy foreign nations that pose no real threat to us, while we simultaneously must give up freedom in our own country to be safe and . . . free" and "The government must know what each and every person is doing, and is justified in using any means necessary to obtain that information creating a de facto police state to keep us . . . you guessed it, free."

If we are unable to free ourselves from what I call the "WWII myth" and return to the ideals of individual liberty, private property, and non-aggression, we are in trouble. Most people look to virtual dictators like Lincoln, Wilson, or FDR for inspiration, when they should be looking at Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, orThomas Paine. Please, celebrate true patriots and true American ideals this Fourth of July.

I have included some light reading about the vision of those who were instrumental in the founding of this nation, and the sacrifices that they made to accomplish it. Let it be a reminder that violence, while sometimes necessary, always has high costs, which is why it should only be used as a last resort. To me that is more incentive to do what we can now to reduce the size, cost, and interference of the government peacefully. Getting Ron Paul elected as president would be a significant step.

Sometimes it's good to look back on the real costs of freedom and what a few have sacrificed for the many.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five were captured by the British as traitors, and were 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 of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants. Nine were farmers and large plantation owners. They were men of means, and well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

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.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton,
Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr., 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.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

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.

Although he was too young at the time to have been one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Andrew Jackson was a messenger for the Continental Army at a very young age. He and his brother were captured by the British and while he was a prisoner of war, a British officer ordered him to shine his boots. The young Jackson refused, and the officer slashed him with his sword leaving a scared hand and face for life. He and his brother contracted smallpox while imprisoned and after their release, his brother died of the smallpox.

Shortly after his brother died, his mother died of cholera contracted while tending to the Revolutionary militia in Charleston. This left young Andrew Jackson alone in the world, for his father had died soon after bringing his wife over from Ireland to settle and begin his new family near Lancaster, South Carolina.

Jackson went on to distinguish himself in the war of 1812 at New Orleans and later as President, stopping the bankers in cahoots with the Bank of England from oppressing America for a full 76 years until 1913 when the International Bankers screwed America with the Federal Reserve Act.

My fellow Americans, I ask you, what sacrifice will you make to regain and preserve our liberty in America?

We Celebrate a Great Nation

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died July 4, 1826 on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Although Jefferson and Adams became enemies during the nasty presidential election of 1800 (Jefferson defeated Adams' re-election bid), they rekindled their affection for each other later in life. On his deathbed" http://by107w.bay107.mail.live.com/mail/ReadMessageLight.aspx?Aux=4%2c0%2c633

[Sassy]

cont from previous post "On his deathbed, Adams final words were, "Thomas Jefferson survives." He didn't know that Jefferson had passed away just a few hours earlier, but Adams was correct. Thomas Jefferson did indeed survive.

Jefferson was one of the youngest members of the Second Continental Congress and also one of its quietest. John Adams asked him about writing a declaration of independence from Britain and stated, "You can write ten times better than I can." And Jefferson did. Between June 11 and June 28, 1776, he labored to produce one of the world's greatest documents. According to The History Channel magazine, "Aside from members of Congress, colonists remained uninformed of the Declaration's authorship for years the first newspaper reporting it came out in 1784, nearly a decade later."

Fifty-six men, all labeled "traitors" by King George III, singed the Declaration in Philadelphia. The Charlotte Observer wrote, "They endorsed a vision of government that would become the American creed and inspire future generations of freedom lovers around the world. The revolutionary pamphleteer Thomas Paine saw the new nation's opportunity clearly. In his 1776 best-seller 'Common Sense,' he wrote, 'We have it in our power to begin the world anew.'"

Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free! I hope you will show your support by sending this to as many people as you can, please. It's time we get the word out that Patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.

Abraham Lincoln said that the signers "meant to set up a standard maxim for a free society; which should be familiar to all, and revered by all; constantly looked to, constantly labored for, and even though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated, and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence, and augmenting the happiness and value of life to all people of all colors everywhere."

In an editorial entitled "Birth of an Idea" two years ago, The Charlotte
Observer concluded, "Mr. Lincoln was right. The Declaration of Independence served its immediate purpose but served a larger purpose too. It created a vision of a nation that America may never fully achieve, but must never fail to aspire to. That challenge is worth celebrating."   Michael Varain

Looking Forward With a Great Vision to Where We Aspire To Go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p774eENRP_4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwIRrrUKZnI&NR=1

[John Raabe]

America does have a history of willingness to reinvent itself. That spirit of invention and independence may help us muddle through to, if not greatness, at least fairness and honesty.

Or would that be asking too much?

Happy Independence Day!!


Food - something all Americans love.