Thomas Jefferson’s statue at the UVa Rotunda
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” ~ Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776
After studying the American Way of War in my course in Virginia, I have a new understanding and appreciation for what those words mean and a new outlook on the risks and gambles that were taken by the tiny, outmanned, outgunned Continental Army taking on the British war machine. Respect, of course. Awe, definitely. Shock and horror go in there somewhere. It was a terrific gamble, fighting a war that was futile and worse, and from the outset, Washington and his army only out-and-out won one single battle!
So how and why are we here? How are we America and not the United Colonies of West Britain, or some other superpower of the time? Courage? Perseverence? Dumb luck? A little bit of all three of these? All because a bunch of certifiably insane country gentlemen and a loosely organized rabble they called their militia had decided it was high time they stopped paying taxes to a disconnected government who gave them no say in how they should be allowed to live.
The founders of this country believed that they should be in command of their own destinies, and believed it so much that they risked everything against a larger, better equipped, better trained military power, and won. There have been others who have fought for these same rights, even if later they fought with words and signs wearing hoopskirts in suffragette marches or listened to a man with a dream address the Capitol Mall. We all just want a say in how we should be allowed to live. Thanks to the brave people who have come before us, whether they went to battle with weapons or with words, whether we know it or not, we have that say. As long as the Constitution stands, as long as freedom of speech exists, we have that say. And that, my friends, in this world of ours, is a miracle.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Independence Day!
