Loading ...“with a firm Reliance on the Protection of DIVINE PROVIDENCE, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honour”
Declaration of Independence
What were they thinking when they signed off on that statement?
Modern revisionists would have you believe that this was in some way a self serving group of people. That the signers of the statement above, and the men who later ratified it for the states, where in fact selfish men whose real motive was either personal gain or the protection of their existing wealth.
A lot has been written concerning what actually happened to these men during the war. Fortunes were lost, some were imprisoned and poorly treated to the extent that they never recovered their health. Some lost their entire family as POWs, killed in action or just disappeared.
The only way it can be said that their actions were self serving would be to assume they were complete fools unable to see the consequences that would likely result from signing that document. Just big words from little men. They knew.
Franklin was overheard to say “We must hang together or most assuredly we shall hang separately.” He certainly knew.
Samuel and John Adams had already see what the British might do back in Massachusetts.
They knew.
It may be possible for a modern history to defame and slander the heart and honor of these fellows since we cannot today or yesterday pretend to know what they were thinking. Our only choice is to look at their words and actions. Given the knowledge of these and the reasonable expected consequences of those words and actions it is hard to believe they were merely vying for personal gain.
They were not being selfish but they instead risked all for a noble dream.
Each had their own dream of course but each did have a dream or a vision of what this new nation was to become. Are we living up to the dream? Is it worth living up to?
Even a cursory glance at the writings of the men themselves indicates we are failing the test, killing the dream. And it is a noble dream.
Let’s explore the dreams of our forefathers.
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