This July 4th, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we would do well to pause and reflect on the extraordinary courage it took for 56 signers to pen their names to such a radical, treasonous document and by doing so, literally pledging their lives and their fortunes. It was a seditious act, unmitigated treachery in the eyes of King George, punishable at the least by confiscation of all their earthly possessions and quite possibly by death as well. As Ben Franklin is reputed to have said, “We must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Success was far, far from assured: quite the opposite, the odds overwhelmingly favored Britain. By signing, our Founding Fathers were taking on Great Britain, the ruling superpower of its era: the British navy commanded the seas and the sun never set on the British empire; England’s military might truly was unmatched.

Because the colonies were eventually victorious (with the fortuitous help of France), it is all too easy to underestimate the depth and seriousness of the risk our Founding Fathers undertook, not only for themselves but for their families, the safety and wellbeing of their loved ones. Be still and quiet for a moment, and look deep within, ponder the risk they took and all they had to lose and then honestly ask yourself: how many of us today, lives filled with ease and entitlement, would be willing do the same?

Closing Quotes:

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” – John Stuart Mill, 1806–1873, (paraphrased) 

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.” – Thomas Paine, 1737-1813

“Do you recollect the pensive and awful silence which pervaded the house when we were called up, one after another… to subscribe what was believed by many at that time to be our own death warrants?” – Benjamin Rush, 1746-1819, recalling signing decades later

As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier

Note: Every effort has been made to properly source any 3rd person material. I am, however, a voracious reader. If anyone finds any unattributed material, pls let me know asap and I will be delighted to give credit where credit is due.
“All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is only to try to think them again.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832