I published this in my blog this morning and just wanted to share it.
We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred Honor
We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor. These are the last words in the American Declaration of Independence. Today has we celebrate the founding of our nation I find myself wondering how many of us would sign a document where those words had a literal meaning. The men who signed the Declaration of Independence were signing their death warrants if their cause lost. One of the signers quipped "We must all Hang together" which caused Ben Franklin to retort "Are rest assure we shall all hang separately." Many of them did lose their lives and the their fortune. Some of them lost sons. None of the them were left untouched. John Adams endured long separations from his beloved Abigail. Jefferson's wife died while he was part of the Colonial delegation to France.
I would like to say that I would have signed but in all honesty I can't truthfully say that. I don't know if I could put everything on the line for something where I had no assurance of success. They did and did so without reservation. For that those men were indeed better men than I could ever hope to be.