How we, the people, remain free isn’t the easy path. It requires the willingness to self-educate, to accept the mission passed on from the generation before, and to put country first. The words of the Declaration of Independence did not change history; the commitment of the fifty-six signers did. For they all knew, as Ben Franklin stated, “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” They demonstrated a commitment to the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that cost them dearly.
Caesar Rodney, a 47-year-old member of the Delaware Colonial legislature, afflicted with painful, unsightly facial cancer, was weary when reaching home in Dover, Delaware, on July 1st. The Declaration needed his signature, for Delaware had three votes, and his signature was needed to determine Delaware’s vote. Traveling through the night and stormy torrential rain eighty miles on horseback to Philadelphia to vote for Independence, he changed history for us.
The fifty-six signers knew the price for independence, and lived it. All were hunted as prey during the Revolution. The price of 500 pounds was on the head of John Hancock, President of Congress; he signed his name in bold, large letters so the King could see without his spectacles. Thomas Nelson Jr. ordered artillery gunners to fire on his own stately mansion, serving as British headquarters. Of the signers, “nine died of wounds or hardships, five were jailed and brutally treated, one lost all 13 of his children, and the wives, and sons and daughters of others were killed, imprisoned, harassed, or deprived of material possessions, and seventeen of the signers lost everything they owned.” All were treated as traitors, separated from their homes and families. They paid with their lives, fortunes, and sacred honors for liberty that present-day Americans take too lightly; unwilling to pay even a small price to restore. All excuses not to vote betray the 56 signers.
Tom Paine enlightens our conception of achieving principles worth dying for:
“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly…”
Are you esteeming liberty too lightly? Do you demand fidelity to the U.S. Constitution? Just as sure as your face looks back at you from the mirror, the price of your liberty has been paid. Blaming political parties for our perilous state as a substitute for political education of the Constitution ignores the root cause. Yes, one vote does count! Make your commitment to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You can monitor elected officials’ votes according to the Constitution at FreedomIndex.com and attend a seminar called The Constitution is the Solution. Contact Matthew Rhodes at mrhodes@jbs.org.
