It's the season again to think about the roots of this country.
Most of us have at least a hazy idea of that time.
The Colonies seethed with unrest. People hated the ever-increasing taxes and the heavy hand of British occupying forces. Yet to act and speak against the King was a treasonable act, punishable by hanging.
More and more the Colonists carried out acts of resistance under cover of darkness.
To openly rebel would risk their lives. To band together as a group and publicly state their united resolve to be free would carry a heavy price tag. Nevertheless, they considered liberty worth fighting for.
Remember that unforgettable first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence?
"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."
This is how it ends.
"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."
Many of them did pay with their lives and their fortunes, or other family members did. As for their "sacred honor," many people around them called them traitors.
Over the years folks have argued whether our nation's founders believed in God
Decide for yourself:
"God who gave us life gave us liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible. – George Washington
"What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ." - George Washington
"I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ." - Thomas Jefferson
"Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." - George Washington
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