Renewing our pledge

“…our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Two-hundred and thirty one years ago, a group of men came together in Philadelphia and made this pledge to one another when they founded our nation. They did not make that pledge lightly. They knew that they were declaring war on the most powerful nation in the world and attempting to do something that had never been done: conduct a revolution that would found a nation which not only derived its power from the people, but made sure that the people retained that power rather than surrender it to a monarch or aristocracy.

That they succeeded was more than amazing. That we have maintained their vision – albeit sometimes imperfectly – is equally remarkable.

What remains is for us is to renew this pledge to one another. That we – as the inheritors of Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Livingston, and Sherman; of Hamilton and the other signatories; and of Washington and the other brave men and women who risked and gave their lives so that we could, in Thomas Paine’s words, “begin the world over again” – once more pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to one another and embrace the rights that liberty grants us and shoulder the burdens and risks that are required for us to maintain and preserve that liberty.

This I pledge to you, dear readers. Happy Fourth of July.