Guest Post: Lives, Fortunes And Honor

Submitted by TFMetals Report

Lives, Fortunes and Honor

Monday is the 235th anniversary of the signing of the American
Declaration of Independence. As such, I'm dispensing with the regular,
weekend chart update. Today, I'd like you to consider the words of The
Declaration as well as the events that led to its signing.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for
one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them
with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate
and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God
entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that
they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted
among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these
ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to
institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and
organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to
effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that
Governments long established should not be changed for light and
transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that
mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to
right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the
same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism,
it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and
to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such
has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the
necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of
Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a
history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct
object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To
prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He
has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing
importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should
be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend
to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of
Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and
formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records,
for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his
measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others
to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of
Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise;
the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of
invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that
purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing
to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the
conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He
has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of
Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to
our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to
their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders
which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring
Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging
its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument
for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to
compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with
circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most
barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to
bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their
friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to
bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian
Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction
of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for
Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been
answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We
have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to
extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of
the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have
appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured
them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations,
which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence.
They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We
must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our
Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in
War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America,
in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the
world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by
Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and
declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free
and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to
the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and
the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and
that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War,
conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all
other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And
for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the
protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our
Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

So, who were these guys, anyway? Legions of fuzzy-headed politicos
with an agenda would have you believe they were nothing but filthy rich,
old white guys who didn't want to pay their taxes. Is that true? Do you
even know whether or not it's true?

Below is the best summary I have ever found on the history of
America's "Founding Fathers". It was written some fifty years ago by the
father of radio host Rush Limbaugh. Regardless of your opinion of Rush
the Third, please take a few moments to read and reflect upon the words
and wisdom of Rush the Second. A link to the full page is here:

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/folder/american_who_risked_everything_1.guest.html

"The Americans Who Risked Everything", by Rush Limbaugh, Jr.

It was a glorious morning. The sun was shining and the wind was from
the southeast. Up especially early, a tall bony, redheaded young
Virginian found time to buy a new thermometer, for which he paid three
pounds, fifteen shillings. He also bought gloves for Martha, his wife,
who was ill at home.

Thomas Jefferson arrived early at the statehouse. The temperature was
72.5 degrees and the horseflies weren't nearly so bad at that hour. It
was a lovely room, very large, with gleaming white walls. The chairs
were comfortable. Facing the single door were two brass fireplaces, but
they would not be used today.

The moment the door was shut, and it was always kept locked, the room
became an oven. The tall windows were shut, so that loud quarreling
voices could not be heard by passersby. Small openings atop the windows
allowed a slight stir of air, and also a large number of horseflies.
Jefferson records that "the horseflies were dexterous in finding necks,
and the silk of stockings was nothing to them." All discussing was
punctuated by the slap of hands on necks.

On the wall at the back, facing the president's desk, was a panoply
-- consisting of a drum, swords, and banners seized from Fort
Ticonderoga the previous year. Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold had
captured the place, shouting that they were taking it "in the name of
the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!"

Now Congress got to work, promptly taking up an emergency measure
about which there was discussion but no dissension. "Resolved: That an
application be made to the Committee of Safety of Pennsylvania for a
supply of flints for the troops at New York."

Then Congress transformed itself into a committee of the whole. The
Declaration of Independence was read aloud once more, and debate
resumed. Though Jefferson was the best writer of all of them, he had
been somewhat verbose. Congress hacked the excess away. They did a good
job, as a side-by-side comparison of the rough draft and the final text
shows. They cut the phrase "by a self-assumed power." "Climb" was
replaced by "must read," then "must" was eliminated, then the whole
sentence, and soon the whole paragraph was cut. Jefferson groaned as
they continued what he later called "their depredations." "Inherent and
inalienable rights" came out "certain unalienable rights," and to this
day no one knows who suggested the elegant change.

A total of 86 alterations were made. Almost 500 words were
eliminated, leaving 1,337. At last, after three days of wrangling, the
document was put to a vote.

Here in this hall Patrick Henry had once thundered: "I am no longer a
Virginian, sir, but an American." But today the loud, sometimes bitter
argument stilled, and without fanfare the vote was taken from north to
south by colonies, as was the custom. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration
of Independence was adopted.

There were no trumpets blown. No one stood on his chair and cheered.
The afternoon was waning and Congress had no thought of delaying the
full calendar of routine business on its hands. For several hours they
worked on many other problems before adjourning for the day.

Much To Lose

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, nine were landowners 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.

Each had more to lose from revolution than he had to gain by it. John
Hancock, one of the richest men in America, already had a price of 500
pounds on his head. He signed in enormous letters so that his Majesty
could now read his name without glasses and could now double the reward.
Ben Franklin wryly noted: "Indeed we must all hang together, otherwise
we shall most assuredly hang separately."

Fat Benjamin Harrison of Virginia told tiny Elbridge Gerry of
Massachusetts: "With me it will all be over in a minute, but you, you
will be dancing on air an hour after I am gone."

These men knew what they risked. The penalty for treason was death by
hanging. And remember, a great British fleet was already at anchor in
New York Harbor.

They were sober men. There were no dreamy-eyed intellectuals or draft
card burners here. They were far from hot-eyed fanatics yammering for
an explosion. They simply asked for the status quo. It was change they
resisted. It was equality with the mother country they desired. It was
taxation with representation they sought. They were all conservatives,
yet they rebelled.

It was principle, not property, that had brought these men to
Philadelphia. 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.)

Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, had introduced the
resolution to adopt the Declaration of Independence in June of 1776. He
was prophetic in his concluding remarks: "Why then sir, why do we longer
delay? Why still deliberate? Let this happy day give birth to an
American Republic. Let her arise not to devastate and to conquer but to
reestablish the reign of peace and law.

"The eyes of Europe are fixed upon us. She demands of us a living
example of freedom that may exhibit a contrast in the felicity of the
citizen to the ever-increasing tyranny which desolates her polluted
shores. She invites us to prepare an asylum where the unhappy may find
solace, and the persecuted repost.

"If we are not this day wanting in our duty, the names of the
American Legislatures of 1776 will be placed by posterity at the side of
all of those whose memory has been and ever will be dear to virtuous
men and good citizens."

Though the resolution was formally adopted July 4, it was not until
July 8 that two of the states authorized their delegates to sign, and it
was not until August 2 that the signers met at Philadelphia to actually
put their names to the Declaration.

William Ellery, delegate from Rhode Island, was curious to see the
signers' faces as they committed this supreme act of personal courage.
He saw some men sign quickly, "but in no face was he able to discern
real fear." Stephan Hopkins, Ellery's colleague from Rhode Island, was a
man past 60. As he signed with a shaking pen, he declared: "My hand
trembles, but my heart does not."

"Most Glorious Service"

Even before the list was published, the British marked down every
member of Congress suspected of having put his name to treason. All of
them became the objects of vicious manhunts. Some were taken. Some, like
Jefferson, had narrow escapes. All who had property or families near
British strongholds suffered.

·    Francis Lewis, New York delegate saw his home plundered -- and
his estates in what is now Harlem -- completely destroyed by British
Soldiers. Mrs. Lewis was captured and treated with great brutality.
Though she was later exchanged for two British prisoners through the
efforts of Congress, she died from the effects of her abuse.

·    William Floyd, another New York delegate, was able to escape
with his wife and children across Long Island Sound to Connecticut,
where they lived as refugees without income for seven years. When they
came home they found a devastated ruin.

· Philips Livingstone had all his great holdings in New York
confiscated and his family driven out of their home. Livingstone died in
1778 still working in Congress for the cause.

·    Louis Morris, the fourth New York delegate, saw all his timber,
crops, and livestock taken. For seven years he was barred from his home
and family.

·    John Hart of Trenton, New Jersey, risked his life to return home
to see his dying wife. Hessian soldiers rode after him, and he escaped
in the woods. While his wife lay on her deathbed, the soldiers ruined
his farm and wrecked his homestead. Hart, 65, slept in caves and woods
as he was hunted across the countryside. When at long last, emaciated by
hardship, he was able to sneak home, he found his wife had already been
buried, and his 13 children taken away. He never saw them again. He
died a broken man in 1779, without ever finding his family.

· Dr. John Witherspoon, signer, was president of the College of New
Jersey, later called Princeton. The British occupied the town of
Princeton, and billeted troops in the college. They trampled and burned
the finest college library in the country.

· Judge Richard Stockton, another New Jersey delegate signer, had
rushed back to his estate in an effort to evacuate his wife and
children. The family found refuge with friends, but a Tory sympathizer
betrayed them. Judge Stockton was pulled from bed in the night and
brutally beaten by the arresting soldiers. Thrown into a common jail, he
was deliberately starved. Congress finally arranged for Stockton's
parole, but his health was ruined. The judge was released as an invalid,
when he could no longer harm the British cause. He returned home to
find his estate looted and did not live to see the triumph of the
Revolution. His family was forced to live off charity.

· Robert Morris, merchant prince of Philadelphia, delegate and
signer, met Washington's appeals and pleas for money year after year. He
made and raised arms and provisions which made it possible for
Washington to cross the Delaware at Trenton. In the process he lost 150
ships at sea, bleeding his own fortune and credit almost dry.

· George Clymer, Pennsylvania signer, escaped with his family from
their home, but their property was completely destroyed by the British
in the Germantown and Brandywine campaigns.

· Dr. Benjamin Rush, also from Pennsylvania, was forced to flee to
Maryland. As a heroic surgeon with the army, Rush had several narrow
escapes.

· John Martin, a Tory in his views previous to the debate, lived in a
strongly loyalist area of Pennsylvania. When he came out for
independence, most of his neighbors and even some of his relatives
ostracized him. He was a sensitive and troubled man, and many believed
this action killed him. When he died in 1777, his last words to his
tormentors were: "Tell them that they will live to see the hour when
they shall acknowledge it [the signing] to have been the most glorious
service that I have ever rendered to my country."

· William Ellery, Rhode Island delegate, saw his property and home burned to the ground.

· Thomas Lynch, Jr., South Carolina delegate, had his health broken
from privation and exposures while serving as a company commander in the
military. His doctors ordered him to seek a cure in the West Indies and
on the voyage, he and his young bride were drowned at sea.

· Edward Rutledge, Arthur Middleton, and Thomas Heyward, Jr., the
other three South Carolina signers, were taken by the British in the
siege of Charleston. They were carried as prisoners of war to St.
Augustine, Florida, where they were singled out for indignities. They
were exchanged at the end of the war, the British in the meantime having
completely devastated their large landholdings and estates.

· Thomas Nelson, signer of Virginia, was at the front in command of
the Virginia military forces. With British General Charles Cornwallis in
Yorktown, fire from 70 heavy American guns began to destroy Yorktown
piece by piece. Lord Cornwallis and his staff moved their headquarters
into Nelson's palatial home. While American cannonballs were making a
shambles of the town, the house of Governor Nelson remained untouched.
Nelson turned in rage to the American gunners and asked, "Why do you
spare my home?" They replied, "Sir, out of respect to you." Nelson
cried, "Give me the cannon!" and fired on his magnificent home himself,
smashing it to bits. But Nelson's sacrifice was not quite over. He had
raised $2 million for the Revolutionary cause by pledging his own
estates. When the loans came due, a newer peacetime Congress refused to
honor them, and Nelson's property was forfeited. He was never
reimbursed. He died, impoverished, a few years later at the age of 50.

Lives, Fortunes, Honor

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.

And, finally, there is the New Jersey signer, Abraham Clark.

He gave two sons to the officer corps in the Revolutionary Army. They
were captured and sent to that infamous British prison hulk afloat in
New York Harbor known as the hell ship Jersey, where 11,000 American
captives were to die. The younger Clarks were treated with a special
brutality because of their father. One was put in solitary and given no
food. With the end almost in sight, with the war almost won, no one
could have blamed Abraham Clark for acceding to the British request when
they offered him his sons' lives if he would recant and come out for
the King and Parliament. The utter despair in this man's heart, the
anguish in his very soul, must reach out to each one of us down through
200 years with his answer: "No."

The 56 signers of the Declaration Of Independence proved by their
every deed that they made no idle boast when they composed the most
magnificent curtain line in history. "And for the support of this
Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence,
we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our
sacred honor."

As you enjoy your 3-day weekend with friends and family, please take
time to remember the sacrifices made by these courageous men and their
families. Ask yourself, "would I have been willing to make the same
commitment"? "Which principles do I hold so dearly as to risk everything
for their maintenance"? "Should the time come again, will I be willing
to speak out and lead or will I stand idly by and watch freedom slip
away"?

I leave you this weekend with the words of Abraham Lincoln, written
some 90 years after The Declaration. Please have a safe and joyous
holiday.  TF

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we
say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the
living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they
who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to
be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from
these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which
they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly
resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation,
under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of
the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the
earth."

Comments

[jon dough]

dupe

[mpolito54]

There is nothing special about America and the way it was founded. The Declaration of Independence is just a paper of empty words designed to inspire young Americans to fight the British. Its main reason for existence was economic. The guys who signed it had profits in their minds not the liberty and rights of ordinary Americans. Same is true for the civil war and all subsequent wars, etc. I know that world history is full of wars and conquest but very few were a systematic extermination of the indigenous populations. In most of the cases, the conquered were assimilated and became part of the resulting state. The sad part of American history, north and south, is that the worst extermination, ethnic cleansing, etc. call it whatever you want took place here. So, stop pretending that we are something unique, something special. In every aspect of our history and our country we are the worst and continue to behave as bloodthirsty villains.

[AldousHuxley]

There is someone who knows what he/she is talking about. Thank you.

America without blessed diversified natural resources would not have the wealth to build the military technology to rule the world. Sad news is that American arrogance have blinded this great land and her leaders have squandered the opportunities to make America even greater. America is now filled with idiots who can't think critically led by prostitutes.

[Chupacabra]

Fact:  The founding fathers accomplished something unprecedented - they threw off a dictatorship (risking life, limb and of course their precious capital in the process) and established the freest, greatest republic the world has ever seen (imperfect, but without question the freest and greatest - ask any of the tens of millions of immigrants sometimes literally dying to get here, even today).  But according to mpolito54's PolySci 101 professor, that's all just a coincidence, it was really just a bunch of greedy white capitalists trying to evade taxes while sport-hunting peaceful Indians.  They must have been puzzled as hell how it all worked out so well.  Nothing special here, just an almost miraculous set of apparently unintended consequences! 

LOL @ mpolito54, DavidPierre and the handful of other losers who have such pathetic lives that they sit here all night trying to shit on something noble.  Happy 4th of July, guys!  Try getting laid sometime, it may help.

[Founders Keeper]

Turd. Thank you kindly for your article. 

Well done.

Have a wonderful 4th. God bless.

[Turd Ferguson]

Thank you.

[Sizzurp]

Attempts to discredit the framers of our founding documents for their alleged misdeeds are specious.  The irony is that the poster uses his own breed of propaganda, the very type he lashes out so vociferously against, to justify his own somewhat mysterious ends.  What our founders did, or how they lived their lives, matters very little.  The documents they produced speak very loudly, in and of themselves, for the way we should all live our lives.  In the end it is up to all of us to either stand up for the principles so wonderfully expressed, or let ourselves become victimized by those who so easily dismiss our sacred laws for the sins of our fathers.

[rwe2late]

Sizzurp

 Of course, pointing out the gap between some one's actions and professed ideals does not invalidate the ideals themselves.

For their times, the Founders' professed ideals and many of their actions were a step forward.

Some here (like rodent and trav)  express disdain for the Founders' ideals of human rights, freedom from persecution, and equality. They even extoll the most sordid behavior of past and present. But such loathing for the noblest ideals of humanity, is tantamount to a self-inclusive contempt for humanity itself. 

 Now, I would hardly be one to deny the destruction and foul deeds that mankind has done and continues to do to this planet and all its inhabitants. But I am hardly ready to join the camp of those who promote such horrors as the best mankind can do, whether it is or not.

I believe the documents of the Founders  hold that we should strive to conduct ourselves by higher principles. Whatever the individual shortcomings of the Founders, I salute them for endorsing the high principles of freedom and justice for all, and in part, establishing those principles.

[Rodent Freikorps]

The Founders would not recognize the police state we are creating.

What  they rebelled against was pretty weak compared to what we live with daily.

Ben Franklin would have shot you in the face if you told him he'd have to join an HOA, much less feeling him up in public.

[Sutton]

We gave the Africans a civilization. When European explorers first came upon the people of deep Africa, they did not think them to be human, so depraved and savage were the tribesmen. Kind of like todays packs of "youths" in Tiny Dancer's Chicago.

[Stuck on Zero]

The Price they Paid ....

Tyler, you should have checked Snopes before putting up that paragraph.  It's a bit of a stretch.  Here's the spot:

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp

[Shell Game]

So, you look to an email hoax site for your revisionist history?

I've got a free tip for you:  for all of your 4th of July outdoor grilling needs, visit http://www.autozone.com

[Stanley Lord]

anybody think Jew boy Anthony weiner would do the same?

[Stanley Lord]

anybody think Jew boy Anthony weiner would do the same?

[Shell Game]

Nicely done, TF.  So few actually read the founding documents and even fewer research the high price those signers paid.  It's easier to be a Celente revolutionary ('when the people lose everything, they lose it'), than it is to be wealthy and willing to lose it all for freedom.

Reading the original Declaration makes one realize that in many ways we are in deeper servitude than the original colonists were.  It awakens in me a strong blood lust. Unfotunately, against an unreachable, faceless and globalist enemy.  Godspeed collapse..

[AllTheMarbles]

Amazing - 24hrs after asking for a show of hands of ZH'ers who are willing to take the same Declaration of Independence pledge proclaimed by our Founders -- out of 300 or so comments ....only two affirmative responses.

It would seems the vast majority are here just to post their self-centered petty agendas in a semi-public setting, arguing and pontificating about the same old (elite inspired) issues over and over, enjoying the illusion of freedom in your anonymously written confrontations…… everyone is “playing” out your “unique” individual role so well ….. all according to the puppet masters planned curriculum……. which as most of you know is to ultimately keep US divided while the PTB focus their attention and actions on the destruction of America…….wake up ….it is the end of the world ….as you know it. ….is coming.......to your neighborhood.

Time to…..put aside your differences ….. look for the common ground and thread to keep the Founder’s "American idea" alive …. If not freedom will perish ….. the American experiment will be over……and the European model will once again rule the world…….. 

Again I ask …..who among you will take Declaration of Independence pledge ……..”And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

If you are unwilling to stand up now – it is okay, maybe later, but step aside, get out of the way, go back to your comfort zone (which for most of you is probably in your Mom’s basement), quit taking up valuable space, and let those of us who are willing to pledge our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor – a few “whine” free forums to begin. The time is now – not tomorrow.

NOTE: Losers you may now junk away.......you know who you are....so play your troll role.....

[AllTheMarbles]

Right on cue ... troll dork - thanks for the junk and your insightful input

[YouThePeople]

i'm not sure which one of your altar egos to address...a rather peculiar call to arms.

why would you request we put aside our differences and come together, then in the next breath

blast away with insults?... egocentricity 

Happy 4th All

http://youtu.be/AE3kKUEY5WU

[robertocarlos]

America is a lie! Fuck America.

[bankruptcylawyer]

george washington didnt sign because he was too busy fighting....a tribute

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0c06OWonD4