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Wonderful reminder Ira..........thanxs
Ira Tunik wrote:
> For those of you who complain about taxes. Is there another place in
> the world that affords the opportunities that this country gives one.
> Some live in other countries yet take advantage of our economic system,
> stock and futures markets and complain that living here would be to
> expensive and paying taxes a burden. People die in containers to get
> here and all that many who live here can do is complain about their
> plight. Here is something to think about over the fourth. What some men
> were willing to give up so that we can live the good life. Ira
>
> Just a little food for thought as the 4th
> approaches....
>
> Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who
> signed the Declaration of Independence?
>
> Five signers were captured by the British as traitors,
> and tortured before they died.
>
> Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
>
> Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army;
> another had two sons captured.
>
> Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or
> hardships of the Revolutionary War.
>
> They signed and they pledged their lives, their
> fortunes, and their sacred honor.
>
> What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers
> and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers
> and large plantation owners; men of means, well
> educated. But they signed the Declaration of
> Independence knowing full well that the penalty would
> be death if they were captured.
>
> Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and
> trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the
> British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay
> his debts, and died in rags.
>
> Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he
> was forced to move his family almost constantly. He
> served in the Congress without pay, and his family was
> kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him,
> and poverty was his reward.
>
> Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery,
> Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge,
> and Middleton.
>
> At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr, noted
> that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the
> Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged
> General George Washington to open fire. The home was
> destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
>
> Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.
> The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few
> months.
>
> John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she
> was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His
> fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more
> than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning
> home to
> find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few
> weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken
> heart.
>
> Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.
>
> Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American
> Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing
> ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and
> education. They had security, but they valued liberty
> more.
> Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged:
> "For the support of this declaration, with firm
> reliance on the protection of the divine providence,
> we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our
> fortunes, and our
> sacred honor."
>
> They gave you and me a free and independent America.
> The history books never told you a lot about what
> happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight
> just the British. We were British subjects at that
> time and we fought our own government!
>
> Some of us take these liberties so much for granted,
> but we shouldn't. So, take a few minutes while
> enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank
> these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price
> they paid.
>
> Remember: freedom is never free! . It's time we get the word out that
> patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has
> more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.
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