The Birth of American Independence

I found this on HISTORY.COM) AND WANTED TO SHARE WITH MY READERS!

When the initial battles in the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain, and those who did were considered radical. By the middle of the following year, however, many more colonists had come to favor independence, thanks to growing hostility against Britain and the spread of revolutionary sentiments such as those expressed in Thomas Paine’s bestselling pamphlet “Common Sense,” published in early 1776.

On June 7, when the Continental Congress met at the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, the Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion calling for the colonies’ independence. Amid heated debate, Congress postponed the vote on Lee’s resolution, but appointed a five-man committee–including Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York–to draft a formal statement justifying the break with Great Britain.

On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of Lee’s resolution for independence in a near-unanimous vote (the New York delegation abstained, but later voted affirmatively). On that day, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that July 2 “will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” and that the celebration should include “Pomp and Parade…Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.” On July 4th, the Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, which had been written largely by Jefferson. Though the vote for actual independence took place on July 2nd, from then on the 4th became the day that was celebrated as the birth of American independence.

Did you know that John Adams believed that July 2nd was the correct date on which to celebrate the birth of American independence, and would reportedly turn down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest. Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826–the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

For all of our other military personnel, where ever they may be. Please Support all of the troops defending our Country. And God Bless our Military who are protecting our Country for our Freedom. Thanks to them, and their sacrifices, we can celebrate the 4th of July.

We must never forget who gets the credit for the freedoms we have, of which we should be eternally grateful. I watched the flag pass by one day. It fluttered in the breeze. A young Marine saluted it, And then he stood at ease. I looked at him in uniform; so young, so tall, so proud. With hair cut square and eyes alert, he’d stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him had fallen through the years. How many died on foreign soil; how many mothers’ tears? How many pilots’ planes shot down? How many died at sea? How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves? No, freedom isn’t free.

I heard the sound of Taps one night, when everything was still. I listened to the bugler play And felt a sudden chill. I wondered just how many times That Taps had meant ‘Amen.’ When a flag had draped a coffin of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children, of the mothers and the wives, of fathers, sons and husbands With interrupted lives. I thought about a graveyard At the bottom of the sea. Of unmarked graves in Arlington. No, freedom isn’t free. Enjoy Your Freedom and God Bless Our Troops. When you read this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our servicemen. Of all the gifts you could give a U.S. Soldier, prayer is the very best one.

The Flag

Hurrah for the flag of the free! May it wave as our standard forever,

Tie gem of the land and the sea, the banner of the right.

Let tears remember the day when our fathers with mighty endeavor

Proclaimed as they marched to the battle

that by their might and by their right

It waves forever!

The Constitution:

Isn’t it amazing that our Founding Fathers knew what conditions would be 200 years ahead of time? If the Constitution of the U.S. was designed for an 18th century agricultural society, how come it produced the most advanced, industrially developed and technologically proficient society this world has ever known?

“Liberty has been the key to our progress in the past and and is the key to our progress in the in the future.—–Robert A. Taft

“Justice is the insurance we have on our lives, and obedience is the premium we pay for it.”—William Penn

“Unless justice be done to others,it will not be done to us.” —Woodrow Wilson.

True Patriotism

True patriotism is more than getting a lump in your throat when the flag passes by. It involves determination on your part to see that America remains free. It involves your willingness to put the best interest of the nation ahead of your own self interest. Single interests may be important, but the art of Democracy is the ability to recognize the  COMMON Good. The ability to give, not just take. We can pull our nation apart, or pull it together.

Which way did you pull today?

Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. ‘I’m glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,’ I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding

me. I decided to start a conversation.

‘Where are you headed?’ I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. ‘Petawawa. We’ll be there for two

weeks for special training, and then we’re being

deployed to Afghanistan.

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was

made that sack lunches were available for five dollars.

It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time..

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask

his buddy if he planned to buy lunch.  ’No, that seems
like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn’t be worth five bucks. I’ll wait till we get to base.’ His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were

buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill.  ’Take a
lunch to all those soldiers.’ She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. ‘My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it’s almost like you are doing it for him.’

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and
asked, ‘Which do you like best – beef or chicken?’
‘Chicken,’ I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a

minute later with a dinner plate from first class.

‘This is your thanks.’

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of

the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped

me. ‘I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.’ He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he
stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, ‘I want to shake your hand.’ Quickly unfastening my seatbelt. I stood and took the Captain’s hand.

With a booming voice he said, ‘I was a soldier and I

was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.’ I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could

stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt
pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a

word. Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers

gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to
them and handed them seventy-five dollars. ‘It will

take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.’

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and
respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to
my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return.

These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals.

It seemed so little…

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life,

wrote a blank check made payable to

‘The United States of America

for an amount of up to and including my life.’

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.’

My Father

When I was:

• Four years old: My daddy can do anything.
• Five years old: My daddy knows a whole lot.
• Six years old: My dad is smarter than your dad.
• Eight years old: My dad doesn’t know exactly everything.
• Ten years old: In the olden days, when my dad grew up, things were sure different.
• Twelve years old: Oh, well, naturally, Dad doesn’t know anything about that.

He is too old to remember his childhood.

• Fourteen years old: Don’t pay any attention to my dad. He is so old-fashioned.
• Twenty-one years old: Him? My Lord, he’s hopelessly out of date.
• Twenty-five years old: Dad knows about it, but then he should, because he has been around so long.
• Thirty years old: Maybe we should ask Dad what he thinks. After all, he’s had a lot of experience.
• Thirty-five years old: I’m not doing a single thing until I talk to Dad.
• Forty years old: I wonder how Dad would have handled it. He was so wise.
• Fifty hears old: I’d give anything if Dad were here now so I could talk this over with him. Too bad I didn’t appreciate how smart he was. I could have learned a lot from him.

Writer Unknown. I found this article on the Internet. Isn’t it so true?