(PENSACOLA) --- Democracy hangs in the balance on the eve of America’s 250th birthday.
All the more reason to reflect on what exactly was happening two hundred fifty years ago. On June 29, 1776, General George Washington was still on the battlefield in New York, with the Declaration of Independence only weeks away from formal adoption.
His General Orders, seen below, to "take charge" show a fearless rule in the face of death.
(Photo Credit: MountVernon.org.)
The original Thirteen Colonies were founded on faith and freedom, while families fought to survive the weather and sickness as they harvested their own food.
Colonists' hope in God and in freedom was seen from battlefields to homes, where copies of Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense were widely circulated, promoting the radical idea of self-government over dictatorship.
“But there is another and greater distinction for which no truly natural or religious reason can be assigned, and that is the distinction of men into KINGS and SUBJECTS. Male and female are the distinctions of nature, good and bad the distinctions of Heaven; but how a race of men came into the world so exalted above the rest, and distinguished like some new species, is worth inquiring into, and whether they are the means of happiness or of misery to mankind.”
250 years later, Paine's words remain true while the threat of dictatorship looms and families fight against global warming, pandemics, and the cost of food. But what hasn’t changed is America’s motto, “In God We Trust.”
The motto has created fighters from Washington to Rosie the Riveter, with men and women still sacrificing their lives for American freedom.
(Photo Credit: Rosie the Riveter)
Fellow Americans, this is not the time to give up, but rather the time to remember that “We Can Do It,” as we light 250 candles for the United States of America.
OpGov.News will celebrate America's birthday every day this week, so come back for some more tomorrow!
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