236 years later. . .

This is 2012.  1776 was 236 years ago. I’m not getting into the whole “signed versus approved, ratified” mess. I’m going with this  - the birthday of our country is celebrated as July 4, 1776. . . So that makes today our 236th birthday. 

I wonder if our Founding Fathers (and Mothers) would even recognize the country we have today, with what they invented.  I’m not sure they would have. They had their own set of issues – I get that.  I am just fascinated with how they created something that could stretch, change and adjust as times changed. They were brilliant – simply brilliant.

There are some things we think we all know.  We “know” that John Hancock wrote his name really big so that “King George could read it without his spectacles.”  We know that Thomas Jefferson wrote most of the text, there’s all sorts of stories. It was hot, they wrote it in secret. If I had a time machine, that’s one place I”d love to visit. 

Every time I read the Declaration of Independence I’m caught by these words:

“we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

I think they knew what was going to happen – when they signed it, they were really willing to  risk it all.  What happened to that? I think now, most people in our country are so concerned about ME that we don’t’ think about US anymore. 

I’m glad those 56 men were willing to sacrifice their lives, their fortunes and their  sacred honors. I hope if I’m ever faced with such a decision, I’ll be willing to do that.  I’m very proud and feel very blessed to be an American.  Someone once said “right or wrong, my country is still my country.”  I feel that way -  and hope I always do. 

I’m not sure we feel that same sort of attachment and willingness to devote ourselves to anything. There are a group of people who pledge their lives – we do have the largest volunteer military in the world.   They are willing to sacrifice their lives – and they are MUCH underappreciated and underpaid. They  are underpaid, mistreated and have to fight for the benefits that we OWE them. . but that’s another story.