Words like "revolution," "subversion," or "sedition"
can strike fear in the minds of people everywhere. Words like these are not part of any democratic society --
but
these words played a major role in the creation of our own democratic nation.
The
men who met in Philadelphia in 1776 represented the majority of people in the
Colonies who were angry and tired of England's overbearing supervision of their
lives. The Colonials wanted to make
their own rules and regulate themselves.
In order to break away from oppression the men who met in Philadelphia
felt they needed a formal document -- a document that would set down their
grievances against England and tell the king
that they didn't need his taxes or
his overbearing rule in their lives.
Jefferson,
Adams, Hancock, Franklin and the rest of men who committed subversion and
sedition in the name of independence knew that they would be initiating a
revolution that could lead not only to their own deaths but to even more
oppressive rule by England if their plans failed. By adopting Thomas Jefferson's prose and signing the Declaration
of Independence these men knew that they were going to be in for a fight -
a
fight they were willing to endure because they knew they were right!
A
rag-tag army commanded by Generals Washington, Greene and Knox and a small navy
with ship Captains like John Paul Jones and his ship, the frigate Ranger,
took the fight to the English
and won the day.
Our
nation's birth certificate is the Declaration of Independence. We owe a debt of gratitude not only to these
brave men for the risk they took when they signed this document but to the
brave men and women who have fought all through our history
for our independence
and freedom.
Happy
Birthday America!
-Stew Hunter
Dockside Editor
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