Independence Day

Happy 4th of July! I love this time of year! I love this holiday... I just hung my American flag on our front porch, and I am sitting on the back patio listening to the birds sing.

I have so much to be grateful for... a beautiful wife and 3 beautiful daughters - all healthy and happy. God's grace is shown to me daily through these 4 women... they are a constant source of joy and happiness, and they constantly give me what I need instead of what I deserve.

When I was in Philadelphia a few years ago, I took a tour of historic downtown. I stood in line and saw (and touched) the Liberty Bell, and walked with a group through Freedom Hall. While I stood there in the room where John Hancock and Thomas Jefferson, relying on the "protection of Divine Providence, mutually pledged to each other their Lives, Fortunes and sacred Honor”, tears rolled down my cheeks.

As I stared at the panoply on the wall at the back, facing the President's desk (a panoply consisting of a drum, swords, and banners seized from Fort Ticonderoga), I was moved by the notion that these men literally put everything on the line to establish the country we call home today. Their commitment to this cause literally changed the course of history... that day, the American experiment began. And, as a result, I am blessed to live in the best country on earth!

What kind of men were the 56 signers who adopted the Declaration of Independence and who, by their signing, committed an act of treason against the Crown? To each of you the names Franklin, Adams, Hancock, and Jefferson are almost as familiar as household words. Most of us, however, know nothing of the other signers. Who were they? What happened to them?

I imagine that many of you are somewhat surprised at the names not there: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry. All were elsewhere. Ben Franklin was the only really old man. Eighteen were under 40; three were in their 20s. Of the 56, almost half--24--were judges and lawyers. Eleven were merchants, 9 were land-owners and farmers, and the remaining 12 were doctors, ministers, and politicians.

With only a few exceptions, such as Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, these were men of substantial property. All but two had families. The vast majority were men of education and standing in their communities. They had economic security as few men had in the 18th century.

Two of them became presidents of the United States. Seven of them became state governors. One died in office as vice president of the United States. Several would go on to be U.S. Senators. One, the richest man in America, in 1828 founded the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. One, a delegate from Philadelphia, was the only real poet, musician and philosopher of the signers (it was he, Francis Hopkinson--not Betsy Ross--who designed the United States flag).

Of those 56 who signed the Declaration of Independence, nine died of wounds or hardships during the war. Five were captured and imprisoned, in each case with brutal treatment. Several lost wives, sons or entire families. One lost his 13 children. Two wives were brutally treated. All were at one time or another the victims of manhunts and driven from their homes. Twelve signers had their homes completely burned. Seventeen lost everything they owned. Yet not one defected or went back on his pledged word. Their honor, and the nation they sacrificed so much to create, is still intact.

Yeah, I am a patriot... knowing what I know about these men, what choice do I have?

God Bless you...

And God Bless America! Happy Independence Day.