America; Land That I Love " Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" John F. Kennedy

“We Mutually Pledge…..

“And for the 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.”  The Declaration of Independence. July 4, 1776

Read this again and think about what is being said. Fifty six men signed their names to this document. Fifty six men, pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for the defense of a dream of a free nation. A nation where all men are created equal. A nation that would be governed by the people.

If you read this document slowly and read it more than once, you will see why it is the most important document in our nations history. In it were the words that would start a revolution and a war, that would create a nation that these very brave men had dreamed and prayed would be possible. But it would come at a very high price. It has been said many times, but it is so true.

Freedom is never free.

We make decisions every day. Most of the time, these decisions are small in nature and don’t really touch or effect our lives very much. But there are those times, when we must make decisions that will change, not only our lives, but the lives of people around us. People that we love and care about. When those times come, how heavy and weighty are those decisions. How many hours, or days, or weeks, do we agonize over the choices that we have, and the final one that we must make. What do you do? Where do you go? Who do you confide in? Where do you find your strength?

I believe that the Declaration of Independence, if it were written today, and had to pass the house and the senate, would fail. It would never get through.

The first reason for that is, God is mentioned. They wrote about their “reliance on the protection of Divine Providence”. Our politicians today can never use the word “God” or make any reference about “God”. That would be politically incorrect. Never can you use your religious beliefs in any way that shows you use God to help you make your political decisions. That’s called the separation of church and state, which is not in the constitution by the way, but that’s another day and another blog.

The second reason is, they speak of truth. Truth! Since when does the word truth and politics even go in the same sentence? It did with our fore fathers. They believed in the truth. Now, I know there were some who were not about truth at all, but that stands to be true in any day or age. Truth has been in a war with lies since the dawn of time, but one thing that we would all have to agree upon…morals, truth, God, and the Bible were all looked at in a very different light  back there, than they are today. In fact, the bible was a text book in our public schools, until 1963.

Weather you like it or not, this country was founded on Judea Christian values. God was referenced, talked about and prayed to on a very open plane. Nobody was offended. Quite the contrary. It was an offense not to mention your God and Christian heritage. Just read some of the speeches and books that were written. How can you miss it?

But, I guess that I have to be fair. God is mentioned on a daily basis today also. I was in a store the other day and I heard some young people referring to God quite a few times. As a matter of fact, they couldn’t stop using the name God in almost everything they said. But it was not in the same meaning or the same frame of mind that our forefathers meant it to be. There was no respect, dignity or honor in the way they used it. Three other words that are on a rapid decline in our society today.

Back to the men who signed this document.

It is said, that John Hancock was the first to sign and used large letters, so that King George, would not miss his signature. Hancock inherited a great fortune, when his uncle died, and became involved in revolutionary ideas that would lead to independence from Great Britain.

Lewis Morris, and Francis Lewis,  from the state of New York, lost all of their land and wealth during the war. Francis Lewis was taken prisoner and shipped off to France. When he returned, his home and property were destroyed.

Richard Stockton, after moving his family to safety, was captured and imprisoned by the British. Badly treated and in very poor condition, he died a pauper.

Joseph Hewes, who had a shipping business, and amassed a great fortune, gave the use of his ships to the service of the Continental Armed Forces. Let’s see if any members of Congress are willing to go this route.

Carter Braxton used his wealth to sponsor the war efforts and eventually lost everything.

Thomas Nelson Jr. commanded the Virginia Forces, which were very instrumental in the siege of Yorktown in the autumn of 1781.

These men knew what they were doing when they signed their names to this document, and many of them paid a great cost securing the freedoms that we take for granted in this great country today. These were men of integrity, honor, respect, and brave. They did not ask people to do anything that they were not willing to do. They were true leaders, paving a way for all of us to follow. But it goes much deeper than that. Words are cheap. Actions are what prove your words to be real.

Sadly, as I look around at the leaders that we have today, I don’t see any of these qualities in them. The leaders of today, are the first ones out the back door the minute something goes wrong. They have their hands in the cookie jar, as they tell you to go without. They are all about what feeds them, not you.

I think of the statement that President John F Kennedy said; ” Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” This is what we need today.

” If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

I think all these men would be in agreement with this statement.