~ “LETTERS FROM AMERICA” - by The Metaphysical Peregrine ~
Abraham Clark, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, had two sons in the officer corps. They were captured and put on a British prison ship where they were beaten and starved, more than most, because of whose sons they were. Eleven thousand men died on the horrible ship. Toward the end of the Revolutionary War, the British told Abraham Clark that if he would recant his support of the Revolution, say he supported the King, his sons would be set free. He said “No”, and this should break everyone’s heart to this day.
Another signer, Thomas Nelson, had a huge estate that was used as headquarters by British General Charles Cornwallis. The reason Cornwallis was there, was because he was driven from Yorktown by heavy cannon fire from American forces. All around the estate, everything was in shambles, the town in ruins. The estate though, remained standing, untouched. Nelson arrived at the battle front and was enraged at what he saw. He turned to the gunners and yelled, "Why do you spare my home?". The gunners said, "Sir, out of respect to you." Nelson yelled back, "Give me the cannon!", and turned it on his own house. The story doesn’t end there. He had raised $2 million dollars (this is 1776 dollars, what is that value now?) by backing loans with his estates. The Congress after the war did not honor him by helping him out when the loans came due. He died losing everything, a few years after the war, at age 50.
There were 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. Nine died of wounds, disease, and any number of horrible things. One lost all 13 of his children. Two had their wives brutally beaten. All were driven from their homes, and twelve of those had their homes burned down. Seventeen lost everything they owned. That’s not all the horrible things that happened to them, but not one of them changed from their dedication to liberty and freedom. Not one became a traitor.
This Declaration is not just for what is says for America, it’s for all mankind. For the 5,000 years of civilization prior to this Declaration, men had lived under the tyranny of the few that thought they knew better how others should live their lives. Thomas Jefferson: "The Declaration of Independence [is the] declaratory charter of our rights, and the rights of man." Yet again today, we face tyranny that so many gave so much to stop, and set men free.
Having won, and what our yearly celebration is founded upon, is from John Adams:
“Yesterday, the greatest question was decided, which ever was debated in America, and a greater, perhaps, never was or will be decided among men. You will see in a few days a Declaration setting forth the causes which have impelled us to this mighty revolution, and the reasons which will justify it in the sight of God and man. ... It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this Continent to the other from this time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will triumph in that Day's Transaction.”(July 3, 1776)
So we have our fireworks, and parties, and church services commemorating this event, and I pray to God, that Freedom will forever triumph in my country.
The last thing John Adams said in pubic was, “Independence forever!”. May this be prophetic.
It's perfectly natural for Americans to be proud of their heritage and this determining period of their history, but history is of course constant, and the freedom of independence and democracy is a privilege that ideally should be culturally accessible world wide.
ReplyDeleteWhat is right for the Occident should be applied everywhere possible, without compromise, if freedom is really what we are defending.
This is also a reference to our accepting the results of the massive election fraud in Afghanistan, which is totally incoherent with what we are supposed to be defending there, and counterproductive to gaining the trust and co-operation of the Afghans. No true democracy anywhere would ever have accepted such an election fiasco in their own country.
It could also be a reference to the decimation and expulsion of Indian cultures of North and South America, and of the same treatment applied to the African and Aboriginal cultures. It also refers to the slave trade that continued until the American civil war, and still continues even today in Easter countries, tacitly encouraged by the West for obvious reasons.
It could refer to the 17th century oppression in Scotland and Ireland and the terrible massacres in France during the French Revolution, and on which the French Republic is founded.
We can't, for example, differentiate between the freedom, independence and recognition of their identity and culture that the Turkish Kurds are fighting for, and those that the Iranian Kurds are fighting for. We can't say that the former are terrorists and the latter are freedom-fighters. We have to be just and constant regarding our conception of freedom and independence. We can't change the rules to suit our geopolitical purposes and objectives, as we seem to do whenever we think fit, depending on our 'national interests'.
With regard to such foreign affairs, Obama, followed much too closely by European leaders, has so far been disappointing.