Pop quiz: which battle of the American Revolution was Thomas Jefferson in? What about Samuel Adams? Thomas Paine? Thomas Jefferson, the author of the very parchment of which we celebrate, did not fight a single battle of the Revolution. The closest thing to combat Jefferson faced was as he beat a hasty retreat with his books in tow as the Governor of Virginia immediately prior to the fall of Richmond. Despite the fact that many of our founders served only in the halls of the Continental Congress during the Revolution, the icon of our 4th of July celebrations has been a Marine in Fallujah instead of a fiery Patrick Henry demanding �??Liberty or Death�??, a Thomas Jefferson lost in thought, or John Hancock signing our Declaration of Independence extra large so that, �??King George won't need his glasses.�?? In doing so we have not only cheapened the sacrifices of great patriots; we have also shirked our responsibility as citizens by shifting the duties and the gratitude of our liberty to rest solely on the shoulders of our military.
Independence Day is not Veteran's Day. It is not Memorial Day. Certainly give your thanks to veterans. As a Marine myself I appreciate the gratitude of a free people. It was the military that fought back the British at Breed's Hill. It was the American soldier who suffered British and Hessian steel at Fort Washington. It was the American fighting man forced the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Thank the military man for securing your freedom, but thank that philosopher and the hell raiser. Most importantly, thank the average citizen who demanded liberty for giving the fighting man a cause to believe in. Without the animating cause of liberty to rally behind, many would still fight�??the British and Hessians did, but their numbers would be smaller and they would have fought with no spirit. The finest gardener cannot save a plant if it sits in toxic soil.
Take a moment and reflect on your Independence Day. How free did you feel at your local fireworks show watching police patrol the area on the lookout for �??illegal�?? fireworks? Sam Adams would have gathered a hundred men in Richard Nixon masks in the dark of night to set off fireworks in the middle of city park. The first officer that attempted to stop them would have been tarred and feathered. A friend of mine attempted to celebrate the day by exercising his freedom to open carry a pistol. He was escorted out of several stores and told by a local politician that he was making people uncomfortable. He was shunned for his behavior, yet we applaud the police officer (who is a member of the standing army our founders warned us about) who carries his pistol openly as he bullies and extorts money from citizens who choose not to wear a seat belt or who ride in the bed of a pickup truck.
How free did you feel this weekend filling your tank, knowing that a third of what you paid was in taxes? No person I ever voted for decided to increase taxes on my gasoline. That decision was made by people I cannot vote for 2000 miles away. No taxation without representation? I wonder how free the citizens of Louisiana felt after five people who were elected by no one decided how they could or could not punish criminals.
It is often said that freedom isn't free. When someone says this we all smile and shake the hand of the nearest military member. Freedom isn't free. Sometimes the bill comes in the form of the blood of our fellows. But more often the bill comes demanding only that you step up and say, �??enough�??. Most often the price of freedom is to simply refuse to be predated upon and to refuse to prey on others. Freedom asks only for you to refuse to hide in your safe little booth and vote for the man who promises to give you something you don't deserve by taking it away from someone else. Freedom requires that you shun the man who promises to make new rules for people you don't like, whether it be the man who smokes in the restaurant or the woman who wants to marry another woman.
Independence Day is your holiday. Those who fight for liberty on the battlefield and in the boardroom deserve the thanks and praise of his fellow man. There are far too few capable of the valor necessary to preserve liberty both in times of war and peace. The responsibility rests on all of our shoulders. Take your place on the line.
I was out of town, so I’m a bit late in reading your post. Not that Cheney is in the same league as Samuel Adams and Jefferson, but everytime I think of his response to why he obtained 5 draft deferments to serving in the military during Vietnam - “I had other priorities in the sixties than military service” - I get a little more pissed.
Voting is voluntary and free. Do it.
Mikeyali,
Jefferson himself couldn’t have said it better
I love the revolution…I have the Besty Ross American Flag and the Culpepper “Liberty or Death” flag…
[quote]pat wrote:
I love the revolution…I have the Besty Ross American Flag and the Culpepper “Liberty or Death” flag…[/quote]
My buddy is getting the “Join or Die” snake inked on his calf. I’m working up an idea for a pin-up girl in a tricorn sitting on a broken crate of tea with a musket in her hands. It’s kind of a variation of the Palouse Sons of Liberty logo. Eventually I’m going to have to get the Boston Massacre dog.
mike