Two hundred thirty six and counting!

Hello Tuesday, July 3, 2012. Tomorrow we will celebrate our national birthday. The 236th year commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It's a paper document. Right? That is correct. This document was originally rolled up for storage. It measured 29-3/4" by 24-1/2". More than a piece of paper are the words contained on it and what they meant then and what they continue to mean to us today. The signers of the Declaration of Independence did indeed "mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." These men risked everything dear to them in order to make this political statement. There was no way for them to stay safe. Francis Lewis of New York lost his fortune, his home, and his wife who died shortly after her imprisonment by the British. Richard Stockton of New Jersey was captured and was so mistreated that he became an invalid, dying two years after his release. Robert Morris of Pennsylvania, the money raiser for the revolution, was jailed and died a pauper. Thomas Nelson, Jr. of Virginia became a general and turned cannon fire on his own home in Yorktown because Cornwallis was quartered there. Each and every man who signed the Declaration of Independence did so because of his abiding belief that the colonies should be free from English rule. That action started a revolution which culminated in victory that led to this grand experiment called America.

Tomorrow we will celebrate in any number of ways this great accomplishment that gave us the freedoms we enjoy. Our plans include enjoying a time of feasting and fellowship with family.  At the same time we need not wonder if these freedoms came without a cost. Our infant nation cobbled together an assembly of armed forces that were more than often ill provided for. More than 25,000 American Revolutionaries died during active military service. About 8,000 of these deaths were in battle; the other 17,000 recorded deaths were from disease, including about 8,000–12,000 who died of starvation or disease brought on by deplorable conditions while prisoners of war, most in rotting British prison ships in New York. This tally of deaths from disease is undoubtedly too low, however; 2,500 Americans died while encamped at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777–78 alone. The number of Revolutionaries seriously wounded or disabled by the war has been estimated from 8,500 to 25,000. The total American military casualty figure was therefore as high as 50,000. The price of freedom. From that time forward our legacy as a nation has been written with the blood of our patriots. We pause to thank God for the sacrifice of so many that we might enjoy the freedoms we all take for granted as we go about our daily lives.

I do hope you will enjoy your holiday in whatever way you choose to celebrate. I leave you with that most beautiful lyric written by Irving Berlin, God Bless America:

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,

Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,

Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,

As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God bless America,

Land that I love.

Stand beside her, and guide her

Through the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans, white with foam

God bless America, My home sweet home

God bless America, My home sweet home.

And may He do just that. Amen. Have a great holiday and Lord willing I will see you here at the blogger ranch on Thursday.          .....More later.