Fourth of July

Since this is the 4th of July, I am reminded of the following; “When in the course of human events… 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.” The opening and closing words of that unanimous declaration that came forth from the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled in Philadelphia on JULY 4, 1776.

The final sentence has always grabbed at my heart and mind. These guys (yes, they were all men) pledged to each other their lives, fortunes and Sacred Honor. They knew that by the mere signing of this declaration, they were providing the British with grounds for their immediate execution and surrendering of all their property. Books have been written about the fates these men suffered for having the courage and leadership to write and sign this document.

It is easy to sit in this 21st century America and criticize this group, I mean they were all men, some owned slaves, there were vast differences in their wealth and their view of who should lead and how. Yet they pledged to each other their lives, fortunes and sacred honor. We could spend the rest of our lives trying to figure out why they did this. But I fear that would be a waste of time. Instead I propose that we find a way to apply their example in our lives.

When we are entering into a business agreement do we bring into the agreement commitment and integrity from which we could truly pledge our life, fortune and sacred honor to the outcome? When we consider our neighbors, can we find enough common ground to allow us to pledge our life, fortune and sacred honor?

Our political leaders of today are the positional descendants of these men. Perhaps in the next campaign, we need to ask them, when have they represented us in a manner that would allow them to pledge their lives fortunes and sacred honor to each other and not to their party only.

What I am saying is this:

We need to return honor to all of our business affairs, our Yes needs to be Yes and our No needs to be No. The field of honor does not lie in the ethics of circumstances. We as a society need to re-discover how we can hold ourselves and our leadership to the standards that existed for the Congress of July 1776.