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Xavier got me to thinking (emphasis mine):
When they wrote, signed and ratified this document (the Declaration of Independence -- ed.) two hundred and thirty years ago today, our founding fathers not only denounced the most powerful ruler in the world as a tyrant and they his equals if not betters, but they signed their own death warrants in a determined hope of establishing a nation such as had never before existed. While you enjoy your hotdog today, imagine the courage and faith in the future and their fellow man. Ask yourself if you could risk all you hold dear, your home, your family, your life, for a vision of a new nation. Then be humbled.
Sometimes I wonder, could I do something so daring? Say goodbye to my family, my wife, my kids and tell them I was giving them the greatest gift of all? The good people who signed that hallowed document did just that, placed their necks on the chopping block so that their children and grandchildren could prosper and live as free men and women, choosing their own destiny. Sometimes I wonder, could I do it? Could I take myself away from my loved ones? Could I be so selfless? Would they all understand? Would they be consoled with the knowledge that we would meet again in the house of the Lord one sweet day? Sometimes I wonder, especially on days such as this, as I plan to go to the shooting range this morning, and spend the afternoon with my family, and ponder the future and what it holds for me as a man, a Texan and American. The folks who signed that document made an immeasurable sacrifice for us. May we always do our very best to be worthy of it.
Happy Independence Day, Folks.
"I should spend an hour a day prostrate and thanking God I was born an American. How many struggle and die for this privilege?"
-- Bill Whittle
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