Fifty-Six Brave Souls - The True Meaning Of Commitment
By William Bailey (06/28/03)
In just one short week, all across this nation, Americans will be celebrating the birthday of the United States.
There will be picnics, parades, concerts with patriotic music and the traditional fireworks. Flags will fly and patriotism will be on display for any who might be watching.
It will also be a good time to remember the document that started this “experiment” in freedom and liberty, the Declaration of Independence.
It is my observation that, when most make reference to the Declaration, they refer to the better-known parts of that document. You know . . . the opening words, “When in the course of human events . . . “ or to the one that is most often quoted, “We hold these truths to be self-evident . . . “. While these are, certainly, significant and important parts of this document, there’s one part that (in my opinion) doesn’t get quoted as often nor with the same emphasis. It comes at the end of the Declaration and reads as follows:
“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”.
When you pledge your life, your fortune and your sacred honor, you’ve about pledged all there is. These fifty-six brave souls willingly made this level of commitment. They, successfully, took on the army and navy of an oppressive tyrant because they saw the flame of freedom as the reward for their efforts.
When one reflects on this level of commitment . . . this deep sense of honor, words from the past remind us of what others have said:
“Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.” General Douglass MacArthur
“But the real man never lets fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country . . . “ General George S. Patton
“The fiery trails through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation.” Abraham Lincoln
“It is the dissimilarities and inequalities among men which give rise to the notion of honor; as such differences become less, it grows feeble; and when they disappear, it will vanish too.” Alexis DeTocqueville.
“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt.
So, as we approach the celebration of the 227th birthday of this, our beloved United States of America . . . let’s have the picnics, parades and fireworks. But, let’s remember what it took to give it to us and pray that we have the fortitude and the honor to preserve and protect it.
In closing, I wonder how many of our national leaders could and would honestly sign a pledge that stated, “ 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” . . . and mean it.
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